Chelsea will host Manchester United in what will be the biggest game of the Premier League matchday this weekend. The international break luckily didn’t bring any rotten news to the club as none of the first team players picked up any injuries or knocks.
The Blues ended a run of two draws in the league with a commanding win over Southampton last time out and will be in confident mood ahead of their clash against United.
Jose Mourinho will, of course, be back at Stamford Bridge but considering United’s struggles and Chelsea’s fluency this season, the Portuguese will be a nervous manager during the game.
Chelsea Team News
Antonio Rudiger didn’t feature for the German National team who were beaten twice in as many games, but he is fit to start against United tomorrow. Pedro Rodriguez is also fit again and gives Maurizio Sarri more options in attack.
Predicted Chelsea Lineup
Defence
Rudiger and David Luiz have started at the heart of the defence more often than not and should keep their place there. They will be flanked by the duo of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.
Alonso has been pretty ambitious going forward, no surprises there, and could be a good outlet considering United’s lack of a good right winger.
Kepa hasn’t had much to do so far in the league. The game against Liverpool was arguably his busiest outing but if Chelsea keep the ball well against United, he could have a pretty calm afternoon.
Midfield
The ease with which the Chelsea midfield has got the job done is almost a hard to believe. New arrivals Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho have adapted well to life in the Premier League and have mustered impressive passing stats this season.
Both Kovacic and Jorginho have a passing accuracy of more than 90% and against a disjointed looking United midfield, they are expected to once again dominate possession.
N’Golo Kante has done his role of mopping things up pretty well despite making more forward forays than usual this season.
Attack
Eden Hazard will take some stopping and the porous United defence will have their hands full. Considering how well Hazard and Giroud has combined, Mourinho could ask his midfielders to offer more protection to the weak United backline once again. Willian should start over Pedro on the right.
Hazard – Giroud – Willian
Kovacic – Jorginho – Kante
Alonso – Luiz – Rudiger – Azpi
Kepa
