Mark Lawrenson states his prediction for Man United v Chelsea

Mark Lawrenson is expecting Manchester United’s clash with Chelsea to be a dull affair – and is tipping the game to finish as a 1-1 draw.

The Blues head to Old Trafford looking to return to winning ways after they were held to a disappointing 2-2 draw by Watford in what was Guus Hiddink’s first game in charge following Jose Mourinho’s sacking.

United, meanwhile, will be desperate to turn around their disastrous run of form, with Louis van Gaal’s men having slipped to their third straight Premier League defeat at Stoke on Boxing Day.

The Red Devils are currently in sixth place in the Premier League table, while Chelsea are languishing down in 15th following their disastrous start to the new campaign.

And former Liverpool man Lawrenson is not expecting to be entertained at Old Trafford on Monday evening.

Lawrenson told BBC Sport: “I’ve never known such a fuss about a game where both sides are so poor. If you look at the history of the Premier League this should be one of the games of the season but instead it will be dull, dull, dull.

“Louis van Gaal’s problem now is that he has no defence. Literally. When he came in he said that he would make Manchester United difficult to beat but right now everyone is rolling them over. It’s a strange situation. Jose Mourinho is in the background but is he really a Manchester United manager? I can’t see it.

“How will Van Gaal play this game? He will be safety first, everyone will sit in and they can’t really buy a goal at the moment. He is not playing well at the moment but Wayne Rooney will have to come back in, why you would drop him for a game like Stoke away I have no idea.

“The Van Gaal story will roll on and on but this looks like a bore draw to me.”

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United have only won three of their last 10 Premier League games.