Chelsea will be eager to return to winning ways when they welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge on Friday night, in the final home game of the 2024/25 season for the West London outfit. Enzo Maresca has new roster issues hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Nicolas Jackson is the latest absentee after seeing red against Newcastle United last weekend. In addition, Jadon Sancho cannot face his parent club due to the terms of the loan agreement between the two outfits. The attacking duo has joined Aaron Anselmino (thigh), Wesley Fofana (hamstring), Omari Kellyman (thigh), Christopher Nkunku (knock), and Marc Guiu (hamstring) on the sidelines.
In addition, Mykhailo Mudryk continues serving a suspension due to a doping violation. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Maresca provided a fitness update on several players. The Italian tactician also discussed Jackson’s possible replacements.
The Chelsea manager said, “Christo [Nkunku] is still out. Reece James is now okay, he was out with illness for two [training] sessions. Yesterday he had a session with us, which is good. We don’t have Nico for this game and we are working on that. These are the options we have, unfortunately we don’t have many options [to play as a striker].”
“Unfortunately, Marc Guiu is still coming back from injury. He has started to train with us recently but is not ready to start. So we are working on different options for Friday night in the absence of Nico. It depends a little bit on the game plan. When playing against a line of five, I prefer to have a ‘real’ nine because you need to attack behind, you need that threat.”
Robert Sanchez will retain his spot between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Manchester United on Friday. The backline should feature Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, and Levi Colwill, and Marc Cucurella, with Moises Caicedo clearing the place for James.
As for the midfield unit, Caicedo will pair up with Enzo Fernandez in the double pivot. Cole Palmer will reprise the no. 10 role, with Noni Madueke and Tyrique George being the two wide attackers. Finally, Pedro Neto should lead the line for the home side against Manchester United in Nicolas Jackson’s absence.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, George; Neto
