Bruno Fernandes could stay on the bench as Man United head to Chelsea | OneFootball

Michael Carrick’s second and probably last game as manager of Manchester United will see his side travel to Stamford Bridge for a tough Premier League tie against league leaders Chelsea.

Carrick is holding the fort pending the arrival of interim coach Ralf Rangnick and will definitely be without captain Harry Maguire, who is suspended, fellow centre back Raphael Varane, Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood, who has Covid.

Doubts remain over Edinson Cavani, who is struggling with a tendon problem, Luke Shaw, who has had a concussion and Fred, who will have a late fitness test after twisting an ankle against Villarreal on Tuesday.

Assuming Shaw does not make it, or perhaps even if he does, Alex Telles could keep his place at left back alongside Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with Eric Bailly coming in for Maguire.

David de Gea’s fine form will see him continue in goal.

Greenwood’s absence and Jadon Sancho’s great goalscoring performance on Tuesday should see the latter keep his place on the right wing.

Carrick put his faith in Anthony Martial for that game but the Frenchman underwhelmed so could return to the bench for this one. Marcus Rashford is the natural replacement and could play the same interchanging role with Cristiano Ronaldo across the left and centre of the forward line.

This leaves three central roles in the middle of the park. Bruno Fernandes transformed the game when coming on as sub on Tuesday but he may be considered a luxury player by Carrick. The Portuguese is almost guaranteed to create goalscoring chances but also loses possession a lot. So given the toughness of the opposition, he may have to settle for a place on the bench again, with the tidier and slightly more defensive-minded Donny van de Been keeping his starting berth.

If Fred doesn’t recover from his twisted ankle, Nemanja Matic could come in alongside Scott McTominay, with the Dutchman just ahead of them in a compact 4-3-3.

Another option might be to rest Ronaldo and bring in Fernandes in a false 9 role or just tucked in behind two of Rashford, Martial and Sancho in a 4-3-1-2 formation.

With all that in mind, here is our predicted XI for tomorrow’s game.