Disarray. For their clubs' own respective reasons, it’s a word growing undesirably familiar for fans of both Manchester United and Chelsea.
Heading into the season, with United having made some blockbuster signings and Chelsea off the back of winning the Champions League, the two sides were tipped to be title protagonists. However, with only a few games to play, neither side have fulfilled what has been expected of them.
United are all but mathematically out of the race for a top four finish amidst a torrid spell of form which has seen five losses in eight matches over all competitions, with only a pair of wins in their last 10 games. Chelsea have a seven-point buffer to fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur (plus a game in hand) thus are secure inside the Champions League places in third, but they are 15 points adrift of top spot.
When they faced United in late November, 12 games into the league campaign, Chelsea were leading the standings having only dropped seven points and conceded a mere four goals. Michael Carrick - during his stint as caretaker manager - took a point from Stamford Bridge that day, somewhat seeming to catalyse a turn in fortunes for Thomas Tuchel's side.
Since, admittedly to a lesser degree than United, Chelsea have often been plagued by inconsistency. Sanctions against Russian oligarch owner Roman Abramovic in March due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has caused uncertainty and unsettlement around the club that has occasionally seemed to translate onto the pitch, although there has overall been pristine handling of the circumstances from Tuchel and co.
Albeit, there is a sense of restlessness amongst the Chelsea fanbase - many of whom can't attend matches under the sanctions - as they await new ownership. Overseeing their side exit the Champions League after an enthralling tie against Real Madrid will have compounded such unease, whilst there is a reality that they will lose particularly important players in the summer, namely Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.
Chelsea's overall form has wavered slightly: whilst defeats to Brentford (4-1) and Arsenal (4-2) have been recorded this month, they are on a current run of a club-record eight consecutive wins away from home in all competitions - consisting of extremes such as a 6-0 win against Southampton. Whilst there is an air of disappointment regarding the season, they are only one win away from bettering their points tally from the previous two seasons. An FA Cup final is also on the cards.
Regardless, it can be agreed that United are much worse-off at present in a multitude of departments. A finish inside the Europa League, or even Conference League, places looms large, with Ralf Rangnick revealing a list of absentees that could be as high as seven for Thursday night's meeting with Chelsea.
Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba will both miss the rest of the season, whilst Harry Maguire's involvement in the final four matches has been thrown into doubt due to a minor knee issue. Fred trained before judging that he still isn't fit enough to return, whilst Aaron Wan-Bissaka could miss out and Jadon Sancho will be absent due to a bout of tonsilitis. There is, however, a chance that Edinson Cavani could return to training at the end of the week.
"We will try to play the best possible team of the players that are available," Rangnick declared. "We have 14 of our first-team available, without the youngsters. Probably three or four of those young players will be in the squad."
Chelsea will be hoping to end a winless Premier League run against United that stems back to November 2017, improving on a record that has seen them win only twice in the sides' last 12 encounters in all competitions. Their last win at Old Trafford came in May 2013 - their only win there in a spell of 13 league matches.
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