Chelsea have endured a difficult week both at home and away, making Saturday’s clash with Manchester United all the more important. 

While the clouds over Stamford Bridge are blocking out the sun, a storm has been brewing in the red half of Manchester for several weeks. First, Lisandro Martínez’s comments shocked the fanbase, then the fallout involving Bruno Fernandes angered the football world. Now, United’s performances on the pitch are also coming under scrutiny, with their form looking pretty dire.

That has left Michael Carrick clinging to his job, despite receiving reassurances this week that he will remain in charge for the trip to London. United fans have little reason to expect an improvement after disappointing performances against Como and Bournemouth. 

Manchester United will stick with Michael Carrick for Saturday’s 12:30 trip to Stamford Bridge, and his results since becoming permanent head coach give Chelsea every reason to expect three points. United sit 16th after one win in eight league games. 

That is two wins from 12, a win rate of 16.7%. Across his whole spell since January, Carrick’s win rate is 48.3% from 29 matches, so the figure has collapsed this season.

Xabi Alonso’s numbers are stronger. Chelsea have won six of 11 matches (54.5%), and sit fifth with four league wins from eight. They also beat Bournemouth 5-1 this month, the same side that beat United 3-0 last weekend.

However, the game against Tottenham has put some pressure on the Spanish manager, with fans now criticising his in-game management and selection choices.

Chelsea cannot afford to treat this game as a formality. They lost 0-2 at home to Tottenham before being knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties by Liverpool on Wednesday. Those results have increased the pressure on Alonso, and another poor performance against a struggling United side would invite further scrutiny.

Even so, the comparison is hard to ignore. Chelsea have the better form, a stronger record and home advantage against an opponent that has been leaking goals. They also have the advantage of playing players in their natural positions rather than trying to force square pegs into round holes and hoping for the best.

If they cannot win this one, the Chelsea excuses will run out and the storm clouds will move south.