Frank Lampard begins his reign as Chelsea manager with a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær hopes his brave new world starts with a promising performance following a first summer in charge of Manchester United with world most expensive defender Harry Maguire is set to make his bow for the home side, while Chelsea’s transfer embargo means no fresh faces were added in the window. 

Team News

Red Devils are without Eric Bailly, who is out until Christmas. The centre back’s injury came in his side’s 2-1 pre-season win over Tottenham, fuelling talk that Harry Maguire could start shortly after his £80m move from Leicester.Paul Pogba could also miss the opener with a back injury but will likely play, while Romelu Lukaku will probably miss out, as he’s in Belgium until the end of the transfer window and hasn’t played in pre-season.However, the Blues have many injury problems with Antonio Rudiger, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Callum Hudson-Odoi will miss Lampard first big test as club coach, while N’Golo Kante and Willian also not at full fitness.

Head to Head Record

The two sides have faced off a staggering 183 times. Unsurprisingly, it is Manchester United who have come out victorious the majority of the time with 78 wins, while Chelsea have won on 54 occasions, and 51 games have ended in draws.

Recent Form  

The Red Devils have had an impressive pre-season after finishing the summer undefeated will give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bundles of confidence in the capabilities of his squad.However, as we all know, pre-season results won’t directly correlate to performances in the ​Premier League. Chelsea also had a positive pre-season after dispatching of ​Barcelona will have done Lampard a world of good as he approaches his first season managing the club he captained.A particularly leaky defence, however, will be a concern for the Blues, who will be looking to tighten up at the back against the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

Predicted Lineups ​Manchester United:

De Gea​; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw; Pogba, McTominay; James, Lingard, Rashford; Martial.

​Predicted Lineups Chelsea:

​Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Zouma, Emerson; Jorginho, Kovacic; Pedro, Mount, Pulisic; Abraham.

Prediction:

Manchester United 3-2 Chelsea