Two faltering titans of the English game meet in a midweek Old Trafford encounter on Wednesday night, as Manchester United and Chelsea renew hostilities in a mouthwatering Premier League affair.
The Red Devils' woes continued in a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United over the weekend, while Mauricio Pochettino's men restored a sense of blue pride by seeing off Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2.
Nevertheless, Eddie Howe's decimated side were a class above Erik ten Hag's tepid troops on a freezing cold North East evening and got their just rewards in the second half, when the lively Anthony Gordon met a Kieran Trippier ball into the six-yard box to tap home at the back stick.
Ten Hag's men had enjoyed a revival of sorts in the top flight heading into the festive period, prevailing in five of their previous six top-flight battles and keeping clean sheets in three on the trot before making the trip to Tyneside, but the under-fire Dutchman was under no illusions that his side were second best all evening long.
Also reeling from another Champions League capitulation versus Galatasaray, Man United have been bumped down to seventh in the Premier League table ahead of the midweek round of fixtures, five points below Aston Villa in fourth place and only boasting 16 league goals in 2023-24 - by far the worst attacking return from any top-half team.
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