Everything you need to know ahead of the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday
After the comparative quiet that came with the international break, Manchester United are right back into the white-hot heat of Premier League action on Saturday when they head to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.
Whereas the Blues have made a magnificent start to the season, United desperately need a big win to get their campaign back on track.
While they did come from two goals down to beat Newcastle at Old Trafford, a win over Chelsea would give Jose Mourinho and his side a huge boost ahead of a crunch run of fixtures.
It is six years since United last won at the Bridge, and they have so far failed to score in three matches there since Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal as United manager.
United could be left to wait on the fitness of a number of players as Mourinho prepares to select his side for Saturday’s game. Luke Shaw, Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay all pulled out of international duty due to injuries, while Marouane Fellaini also failed to appear for Belgium amid suggestions he is carrying a hamstring injury.
There is a concern, too, over Diogo Dalot after he was replaced early in the second half of Portugal’s 4-2 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina at under-21 level.
Jesse Lingard has stepped up his recovery after missing United’s last three games and both of England’s recent UEFA Nations League matches while Ander Herrera could still be out following the ankle trouble which has seen him also skip the last club fixtures.
Marcos Rojo remains unavailable following his aborted return to action with the under-23s against Reading in September after he underwent surgery to clear up an injury suffered during World Cup duty with Argentina.
United have no suspension worries, and the same is true of Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea. Similarly, neither side is set to lose any players to suspension should they be booked on Saturday.
Mourinho could leave it late before deciding his starting XI as he waits to discover which of those players returning from international duty can give him a full 90 minutes.
With Matic, Fellaini and McTominay among the doubts there could be a start in midfield for Fred or Andreas Pereira, while there might be a shirt up for grabs at centre-back following the early struggles against Newcastle last time out.
Further forward the manager will have to choose between goal heroes Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez, as well as international goal-scorers Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford to spearhead the attack.
After their flying start to life under Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea will head into Saturday’s game full of confidence in their ability to see off a struggling United.
With Eden Hazard in top form and the midfield ranks firing as well as ever thanks to the likes of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic, the Blues will provide plenty of threat for the Red Devils’ back line.
They are relatively free of injuries, although Antonio Rudiger’s groin problem which ruled him out of Germany duty against Netherlands and France in the UEFA Nations League is likely to keep him sidelined this weekend.
Elsewhere, Ethan Ampadu injured a knee playing for Wales and is a doubt, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek missed England’s fixtures due to a foot injury..
The match at Stamford Bridge kicks off at 12:30pm BST on Saturday, with live coverage available in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League from 11:30am and Sky Sports Main Event from midday. In the U.S. the game will be shown on NBCSN at 7:30am ET.
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