Manchester United might have to enter another match in the final weeks of the Premier League season with a depleted squad at their disposal. Lately, United have been dealing with a lot of injuries to their first-team players which has hampered them from putting up a strong team on the pitch. As poor Manchester United have been in their games, injuries to first-team regulars have also contributed to this forgettable run of results in recent weeks. The Red Devils’ most recent away Premier League setback, a 3-1 loss at Arsenal, means they have now lost four away league games in a row. This happened for the first time since a run of six between December 1980 and March 1981.
It all started with the humiliating 4-1 defeat away to Manchester City. Next up was an embarrassing 1-0 loss to struggling Everton. It followed up with the 4-0 humiliation at Anfield against Liverpool and the 3-1 defeat on Saturday to Arsenal. In these games, Ralf Rangnick had to deal with a lot of injury situations, which prevented him from naming a strong Starting XI. It looks like the same trend might continue for Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford.
READ MORE – Arsenal vs Man United controversy: Ralf Rangnick questions VAR; was he right?
Rangnick could be without as many as four first-team regulars for the clash against Thomas Tuchel’s side. Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw, Fred and Edinson Cavani were absent for the 3-1 defeat to Mikel Arteta’s team. Paul Pogba, who sustained a calf problem at the start of the match at Anfield, will most likely miss the rest of the season.
There is a big doubt over another midfielder in the form of Fred. The Brazilian picked up a hip flexor problem during Manchester United’s 1-0 loss at Goodison Park on 9th April. It will be interesting to see if he can recover back in time to face the Blues.
One thing is clear though, Shaw, who is sidelined following a minor knee operation, and Cavani (calf) will definitely be unavailable for the massive midweek clash. They both are not expected to return to the Starting XI before May.
On the positive front though, Scott McTominay returned to the Starting XI for the defeat against Arsenal on Saturday. Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo also came back to the squad for the clash at the Emirates Stadium. These three are expected to retain their places for the visit of Chelsea.
On the other hand, the Blues will be without the services of Callum Hudson-Odoi (Achilles) and Ben Chilwell (knee), who are unlikely to play again this season. For the late win over West Ham United at the weekend, Mateo Kovacic (ankle) and Antonio Rudiger (groin) were absent. Another centre-back Andreas Christensen was also unavailable due to stomach cramps.
The defensive duo of Rudiger and Christensen could very well start at Old Trafford, however, the chances of Kovacic making the trip to Manchester is quite slim. Reece James (hamstring), who missed the win over West Ham at the weekend, is expected to make it to the Starting XI.