Chelsea will resume their Premier League campaign when they host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge this weekend in what will be one of the most anticipated games of the matchday. The Blues are trailing table-toppers Manchester City only due to an inferior goal difference.
Manchester United, on the other hand, picked up a morale-boosting win over Newcastle United and will look to use that momentum against Chelsea this weekend. They are currently eighth in the league table, though a win could potentially help them leapfrog Wolves and perhaps even Bournemouth.
Here, we will take a look at how a combined lineup will look based on form and injury status of both the teams.
Team news
Chelsea won’t be facing any fresh injury concerns apart from Ethan Ampadu, who will be out with a knee injury. Antonio Rudiger is slightly doubtful as well after withdrawing from the Germany squad during the international break.
As for Manchester United, they will be missing out on the services of Jesse Lingard, Marcos Rojo and Ander Herrera through injury while the likes of Luke Shaw, Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay are all doubtful going into this game.
Formation: 4-3-3
Defence
Considering current form, we pick Kepa Arrizabalaga ahead of David de Gea in between the sticks. United superstar de Gea has been well below-par compared to his lofty standards this season, conceding 14 goals, which is more than anyone else on the top half of the league table.
Cesar Azpilicueta will be starting ahead of Antonio Valencia in the right-back position, thanks to his defensive solidity as well as consistency. Similarly, on the opposite flank, Marcos Alonso is undoubtedly the better option over Luke Shaw, who has struggled with both injuries as well as consistency this season.
In central defence, we, unfortunately, have to leave out Antonio Rudiger, who is doubtful. As a result, David Luiz will accompany Manchester United’s Chris Smalling at the heart of the backline.
Midfield
Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are the obvious picks at the base of the 4-3-3. Both the midfielders have played a key role in Chelsea’s excellent start to the campaign with Jorginho, in particular, taking charge of his team’s ball circulation as well as transition.
Paul Pogba, on the other hand, will be given the nod ahead of Mateo Kovacic. The Frenchman has averaged 1.5 key passes per game this season, more than Kovacic, while he has also managed more successful dribbles and has won more aerial duels than the Croatian international.
Attack
While this may raise some eyebrows, we will pick Marcus Rashford over Willian on the right flank, solely due to his exploits against Spain during the international break. He scored England’s second as well as setting up Raheem Sterling’s opener in the 3-2 win over the 2010 World Cup making him one of the most in-form players going into this game.
This season’s leading goalscorer Eden Hazard will occupy the opposite flank while Romelu Lukaku (4 goals) will be leading the line, ahead of Olivier Giroud (0 goals) and Alvaro Morata (2 goals).
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
