Sunday afternoon will see Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, host Antonio Conte’s Chelsea, in a rivalry that has even more spice added to it, due to the feud between the two bosses.
A lengthy injury list for United
The Red Devils have had quite a lengthy injury list for a while now, and this doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter any time soon, as Mourinho has confirmed that nobody will be returning in time for the trip of Chelsea.
Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, Marouane Fellaini and Daley Blind have been missing for the Portuguese manager's squad a for a while now. Ander Herrera was added to United’s injury list after pulling up just 15 minutes into their draw with Sevilla in the week, and Mourinho has also confirmed that the Spaniard will miss Sunday’s game.
"Ander is out, I don’t know the final diagnosis but I know he is out for a few weeks, I don’t know how to say ‘few’, two, three four five or six."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been training with United this week, although didn’t travel to Seville, and therefore is doubtful for the weekend.
No fresh injury concerns for the visitors
Like Mourinho, Antonio Conte has also confirmed that none of his current injury list will be back in time for their trip to Old Trafford, however, the Blues also have no fresh injury concerns, and a significantly shorter injury list than United.
Ross Barkley, Tiemoue Bakayoko and David Luiz are the players that have been ruled out by the Italian boss.
Holes in both defensive setups
One pattern that runs through both of team's injury lists is the number of defensive players that are unavailable for selection, meaning that both managers should look to expose the weaknesses in their opponent's defensive setup.
Holes in defence, mixed with the undoubted attacking quality available to both sides, could mean that there is room for a lot of chances, and possibly a lot of goals.
United vs Chelsea is a fixture that has been huge in English football for years, and the attacking talent available, mixed with the defensive vulnerabilities in this particular encounter, provides the possibility for a Premier League classic.