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Let’s have a rummage around the pre-match postbag ... and by the looks of the contents, Ruben Amorim has lost the crowd.
“Any sign of a Papal Bull at Old Trafford? After all, there’s been plenty of another kind of bull there over the last 12 months” – Gary Naylor
“Fortunately this is only football. Imagine Amorim as a general. ‘Sir, our troops are being slaughtered.’ ‘Look son. Not even the Pope could make me change my system. Carry on!’” – Mary Waltz
“Shaw was atrocious at left centre-back position last week, as Bruno’s been in midfield each and every game; so it’s kinda weird Yoro’s out and Shaw’s still in and United’s been set up in last week’s exact formation of midfield and attack. What was the definition of insanity?” – Karen Asad
“Win or lose today, Amorim must go. There’s no place for this inflexibility in the Premier League” – Jeff Sax
Speaking of Garnacho, our man Jamie Jackson is at the ground, and the following dispatch will not come as a huge shock. “Garnacho entered late to the warm-up and to sizeable boos. He is continuing to be jeered.”
Enzo Maresca talks to Sky. “Overall the change we made today is to rotate a little bit … it is very difficult to go with the same players every time … Wes [Fofana] is ready … [Estevao brings] energy and quality … we need him … we need all the rest of the attacking players … [erstwhile United winger Alejandro Garnacho] already showed against Bayern and Brentford that he can help us … hopefully we can give him some minutes … every game is difficult … Man United away is a very complicated game.”
Ruben Amorim speaks to Sky Sports. “The first thing is to try to show the image of the last game and work on that … put more men in the box … we have to defend our box … use our full speed to recover position … be really focused … aggression and focus is something we have to improve … the crucial moments we have to do better … Harry Maguire’s ability to defend the box … in this moment we need the experience … we always try to put our best 11 against the opponents and Maguire is in that 11 today … we cannot risk players [like the returning duo of Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount] … we have other players … our focus is the thing we need to change … it is not to change the players all the time … it is to believe what we are doing … we cannot lose Matheus and Mason for many games.”
The 3pm results are in, and they don’t bring good news for Manchester United. Burnley and Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw means both clubs leapfrog them in the Premier League table, leaving them one spot off the relegation places. Now, that might not mean very much so early in the season, but the optics aren’t great. Having said all that, three points will catapult them into the top half and things will look so much rosier come 7.30pm. Chelsea meanwhile are bumped down to sixth after Crystal Palace’s 2-1 win at West Ham, but they can go second this evening with victory.
Chelsea’s manager has also been telling it as he sees it. None of it good news for Raheem Sterling or Axel Disasi. No splicing of the mainbrace for them.
… so Amorim sticks with Bayindir, and he’s also sticking with that formation. No great surprise there, to be fair, with United’s manager never missing an opportunity to assert his MO.
Manchester United make two changes to the team that started the 3-0 defeat at Manchester City. Harry Maguire and Casemiro come in for Leny Yoro and Manuel Ugarte, both of whom are benched. Altay Bayindir again gets the nod ahead of new keeper Senne Lammens.
Chelsea also make two changes in the wake of defeat, theirs that 3-1 loss at Bayern Munich. Wesley Fofana and Estêvão replace Tosin Adarabioyo and Malo Gusto, who drop to the bench.
The teams
Manchester United: Bayindir, Mazraoui, de Ligt, Maguire, Dorgu, Casemiro, Fernandes, Shaw, Mbeumo, Diallo, Sesko.
Subs: Lammens, Mount, Cunha, Zirkzee, Yoro, Ugarte, Heaven, Fredricson, Mainoo.
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Estevao, Palmer, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro.
Subs: Adarabioyo, Bynoe-Gittens, Jorgensen, Santos, Hato, Gusto, George, Guiu, Garnacho.
Referee: Peter Bankes (Merseyside).
VAR: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire).
Preamble
This isn’t exactly a world exclusive, but here it is anyway: Manchester United aren’t in the best nick at the moment. While it’s true they can boast the second-best xG in the Premier League so far this season (8.3), they’ve got the fourth-worst xG against (6.9) and in any case statistics can only keep you so warm at night when the realpolitik is four matches, four points, and a shellacking in the Manchester derby. A grim enough state of affairs without the need to bring Grimsby Town into it.
But! If there’s a fixture that could rekindle some hope around Old Trafford, and belatedly kick-start United’s season, it’s Chelsea at home. United are unbeaten in 12 in this fixture, since Juan Mata, then a Blue, scored a late winner in May 2013; pull back the viewfinder a little further, and Chelsea have only won this fixture twice in the last 20 years.
Factor in Chelsea’s painful energy-sapping lesson in Munich earlier this week, suffered while United had their feet up studying Ruben’s Big Book of Plays, and this game has perhaps arrived at exactly the right time for the under-pressure Amorim and his men. Having said all that, Chelsea are unbeaten in three against United, winning two, while their domestic performances, admittedly imperfect, have been a damn sight better than those of today’s hosts. All of which is a long-winded way of suggesting that tonight’s match could go either way, and as a result should be great fun. Kick-off is at 5.30pm UK time. It’s on!
