Stamford Bridge is the venue for this weekend’s pulsating Premier League lunchtime kickoff, which pits under-performing Chelsea against crisis club Manchester United.
Both Xabi Alonso and Michael Carrick are at risk of losing three successive games in all tournaments this weekend, but few expected the latter to even make the trip to the capital this weekend.
Still backed by a large portion of the Old Trafford faithful – which is more than can be said for the players, INEOS and the Glazer family – Carrick
has earned an unforeseen stay of execution as Man United manager amid the Red Devils’ declining form.
In the eyes of many, Carrick was bidding farewell to the Theatre of Dreams after last weekend’s horror show against Bournemouth, who astonishingly won 3-0 away at Man United for the third time in four seasons to plunge the club into further catastrophe.
Despite now overseeing an eight-game winless run in all tournaments and six-match winless sequence in the top flight – leaving Man Utd 16th in the Premier League table and just one point above the drop zone – Carrick will be given time to turn the Red Devils’ fortunes around.
The expulsion of Bruno Fernandes from the XI to face Bournemouth naturally dominated the Man Utd headlines last weekend; Carrick stressed that his captain was dropped for “pure football” reasons after he appeared to criticise his manager’s tactics in Como.
The pair have reportedly now held clear-the-air talks, and Fernandes should return to the Man Utd side on Saturday, after Carrick revealed in his press conference that the Portuguese remains “fully committed” to the club.
Kobbie Mainoo is also back in training, but Marcus Rashford’s availability remains unclear, while Luke Shaw (unspecified), Benjamin Sesko (shin), Manuel Ugarte (knee) and Patrick Dorgu (thigh) are still missing.
Traveling Squad:
GK: Lammens, Darlow, Heaton, Mee.
Def: Maguire, Martínez, De Ligt, Heaven, Yoro, Dalot, Mazraoui.
Mid: Fernandes, Baleba, Mainoo, Mount, Santos, Tielemans.
Fwd: Mbeumo, Amad, Cunha, Lacey, Zirkzee.
Premier League Schedule
It’s an afternoon kickoff in the UK, which means a 8:30 a.m. kickoff on the East Coast of the U.S.
Premier League Channel
The match is on Sky Sports in the UK. Those Stateside can watch on USA. For Spanish language coverage, tune into Telemundo. In Canada, it’s on DAZN and Fubo.
Everyone else, head on over to LiveSoccerTV to find your viewing options.
Predicted Lineup
Manchester United possible starting lineup: (4-2-3-1) – Lammens; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot; Santos, Baleba; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Mount; Cunha
