Manchester United travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Saturday, hoping to make it back-to-back wins in the Premier League.
The Red Devils outclassed Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Old Trafford in midweek, producing their best performance under Erik ten Hag. This ensured they bounced back to winning ways after the 0-0 draw with Newcastle United at home last weekend.
Ten Hag will expect his team to build on the performance and result against Spurs when they travel to Chelsea, who are unbeaten in seven games across all competitions under Graham Potter.
Manchester United Team News
Cristiano Ronaldo created headlines for the wrong reasons when he walked down the tunnel before full-time in Manchester United’s win against Tottenham. Ten Hag has subsequently dealt with the situation by dropping Ronaldo from his travelling squad against Chelsea.
Christian Eriksen provided a boost to Ten Hag’s side by returning to the bench against Spurs, but Anthony Martial still remains out with a back problem. Elsewhere, Harry Maguire and Brandon Williams were spotted out on the grass on Thursday as they stepped up their recovery from injury.
Predicted Man United Lineup vs Chelsea (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
After back-to-back clean sheets against Newcastle and Tottenham respectively, David de Gea will be hoping to shut up shop as quickly as possible at Chelsea.
Defence
Erik ten Hag seems to have settled on a back four that is starting to keep clean sheets for Man United. In front of De Gea, Raphael Varane will resume his defensive partnership with Lisandro Martinez, with Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw operating from the full-back positions in the Man United lineup.
Following the win over Spurs, the United backline should have gained a lot of confidence ahead of the trip to Chelsea. However, they must defend very well to keep an exciting Chelsea attack at bay.
Midfield
Casemiro has seemingly nailed down his place in the Man United lineup, adding composure, class and much-needed stability to the midfield. The Brazilian is a certainty to start again, and his experience and calmness will be crucial for the Red Devils in such a big game.
Partnering Casemiro in the middle of the park could be Fred, who was excellent against Spurs and deserves to make his third Premier League start in a row. The Seleção stars share good chemistry between them, and the duo’s selection again should provide solid protection to the United defence.
Bruno Fernandes is the creative spark of this United side, and he may have got some much-needed confidence after scoring a fantastic goal against Spurs in midweek.
Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay may get opportunities off the bench in the second half.
Attack
Ten Hag is likely to stick with the front three that started in the 2-0 win over Spurs, meaning Antony, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho will all start in the Man United lineup.
Rashford will lead the Red Devils’ attack, with Sancho and Antony providing support from wide areas. The trio has pace, energy and movement to cause all kinds of problems to the Chelsea backline.
With Ronaldo suspended, young guns such as Anthony Elanga, Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellestri could get involved in the latter stages of the game if required.