He is not helping us at all, look at how he ghosted against Burnley. Pochettino needs to bench him if he truly wants to win Manchester United today, Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho identifies the single Chelsea player that needs to be traded this summer to make place for new faces

Paul Merson has shared his predictions for the upcoming clash between Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premier League, while also issuing a warning to Erik ten Hag, emphasizing the “huge pressure” the Dutch manager will face should his team lose their next two matches.

Scheduled for Thursday night, Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea will host Manchester United, the former powerhouses, at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea recently endured a challenging encounter against ten-man Burnley, resulting in a 2-2 draw, while Manchester United managed to salvage a point against Brentford with a 1-1 stalemate.

Both teams displayed signs of inconsistency leading up to the international break and experienced disappointing outcomes upon their return to domestic action.

In Pochettino’s inaugural season at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea has encountered difficulties, finding themselves languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table with only 10 games remaining. Despite significant investment in new signings under the ownership of Todd Boehly, totaling nearly £1 billion, the West London outfit finds themselves closer to the relegation zone than to league leaders Liverpool.

Although Manchester United currently sits five places and eight points ahead of Chelsea in the standings, they too have been dissatisfied with their season, particularly after their premature exit from the Champions League during the group stage.

Ten Hag’s managerial tenure at Manchester United is already under scrutiny, as his team faces an uphill battle to secure a Champions League berth for the following season. They trail behind Tottenham and Aston Villa by nine and eleven points, respectively, in the race for European qualification. Thus, the pressure mounts for Ten Hag and his squad as they strive to close the gap and secure their place among Europe’s elite.