Sheff Utd v Chelsea: Sutton's predictions

Chris Sutton, Luke Littler and Nathan Aspinall
  • Published

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on darts stars Luke Littler and Nathan Aspinall, who both support Manchester United.

Sutton's prediction: 1-3

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino was as pumped up after Thursday's dramatic win over Manchester United as I've seen him since Lucas Moura's goal when his Tottenham side beat Ajax in the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.

I felt for Pochettino because his side were 2-0 up and cruising until Moises Caicedo gifted United a way back into the game. For the score to be 2-2 at half-time, he must have been tearing his hair out.

Chelsea have got a real naivety about them defensively but they still found a way to win, and they have still got a sniff of finishing high enough to qualify for Europe - which would be really remarkable given the season they have had.

I still think it is last week's 2-2 draw with Burnley that sums their campaign up though, which means there is a chance they could follow Thursday by stuffing things up here.

The way I'd describe Chelsea right now is as a team that is still learning. Pochettino has made some pretty pointed comments about how his players need to work as hard out of possession as they do when they have the ball, and that applies whoever the opposition are.

They should really beat bottom side Sheffield United but they need to keep their focus and maintain their intensity.

I don't feel it's the case that the Blades are running out of time to save themselves from relegation, because I think that's inevitable. It's really just a matter of when they go down, not if.

Littler's prediction: 0-1

Aspinall's prediction: 2-2

See the full list of predictions