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Former Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips feels Manchester United will struggle to deal with Thomas Tuchel's in-form Chelsea side, notably Reece James, during their clash on Sunday.
After 12 games, the Blues are three points clear at the top of the Premier League table, having conceded only four goals. Tuchel's team haven't lost since October, winning nine of their last ten games in all competitions.
Manchester United, on the other hand, have lost three of their last six games in all competitions. This includes the 4-1 setback at Watford that led to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal. Wright-Phillips predictably sees the West Londoners as obvious favorites for Sunday's match at Stamford Bridge.
Wright-Phillips, who also played for Chelsea, told Football London:
“It’s going to be an uphill battle for Manchester United against Chelsea at the weekend. I think if anybody has seen Chelsea and watched the way they play, even on a bad day, it’s going to be hard for Man United to match that pretty much in all their positions.”
Wright-Phillips thinks the only disadvantage Chelsea have against Manchester United is the loss of Chilwell
Wright-Phillips also added that Chelsea will rue the loss of left-back Ben Chilwell, but that everything else points to a victory for the Blues:
“The only downside for Chelsea is the loss of Ben Chilwell, but he will be replaced by [Marcos] Alonso who was playing well until Chilwell stepped in. Manchester United will go into the game worrying about Chelsea more than the other way around.”
On the potential key battle during the game, Wright-Phillips added:
“I’m not sure whether Luke Shaw will be fit to play. But I’m looking forward to that battle between him and Reece James, as they both love bombing forward. They’re both quite physical but with Reece James, he possesses a certain quality, especially in crossing and finishing, that nobody seems to stop him doing that at the moment.”
Because of his recent form, the 21-year-old right-back has justifiably earned a lot of attention. He's already had more goal contributions than any other Blues player this season, with four goals and four assists.
His teammate Christian Pulisic has even stated that he would not be surprised if James continues to lead Chelsea's goal scoring statistics at the end of the season. That would be quite the feat for a defender.
