by 16:46
Team news summary
It looks like Chelsea will play a 3-4-2-1 but the big news is that they don’t have a defender on the bench which means Potter would need to make tactical changes should he suffer an injury to the back.
The guests only made one change with Christian Eriksen in place of Fred, a small surprise as the Brazilian had a strong midweek performance, arguably his best for United.
16:42
Potter and Ten Hag meet again
This may be the first time Chelsea and Manchester United have met this season, but it’s worth mentioning that Graham Potter faced Erik Ten Hag in the first weekend of the season.
Potter’s Brighton won the match 2-1 at Old Trafford and frankly beat United. Ten Hag’s team had the superiority in terms of ball possession, shots and shots on goal, but that didn’t tell the story of the match and Brighton had good three-point value. Ten Hag’s experiment with Christian Eriksen as a false nine was an abject failure, and it’s something that hasn’t been seen since.
The question now is whether this was the result of a new manager finding his feet in his first Premier League match or maybe Potter has Ten Hag’s number.
16:35
Team news: Chelsea start from XI
Chelsea: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella, Chilwell, Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Mount, Sterling, Aubameyang.
Subtitles: Mendy, Chukwuemeka, Gallagher, Kovacic, Zakaria, Havertz, Pulisic, Ziyech, Broja.
16:33
Team News: Man Utd starts XI
Man Utd: De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Eriksen, Casemiro, Antony, Fernandes, Sancho, Rashford.
Subtitles: Heaton, Lindelof, Malacia, Fred, McTominay, Pellistri, Iqbal, Elanga, Garnacho.
16:01
Respectful Potter ahead of Manchester United clash
Chelsea manager Graham Potter emphasized his respect for Erik Ten Hag and weighed on the controversy over Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
A statement from Old Trafford last night confirmed that Ronaldo would be barred from his team’s trip to Stamford Bridge this weekend after refusing to enter as a late replacement in his side’s 2-0 midweek win over Tottenham.
Ten Hag announced that he took disciplinary action against his superstar striker after he subsequently walked down the tunnel before the match ended in the 89th minute.
Potter was asked what he thought about how Ten Hag handled the relationship: “He took his position and sometimes you have to and the club took his support. This is what happened.
“That’s what I see from the outside. It’s hard to comment because I don’t know exactly what happened and I don’t want to pass the headlines.
He went on to praise both Ten Hag and Man United as a club: “I have great respect for Ten Hag. They did well, not a great start, but they reacted and played well. It will be a tough game.
“It’s a football match. You have to analyze the opponent and think of a way you can play. Manchester United is Manchester United. They have the best players and they have galvanized themselves into an impressive team. It’s a fantastic game to play,” so we can’t wait.
“They have changed a bit in terms of how they are built. They have a bit longer balls and are direct. They still have the same quality with [Marcus] Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Bruno Fernandes – who plays a key role for them, so there are a lot of similarities.
“It’s the same team, but they seem to have adapted to each other and to the competition, which is really a normal process. I’ve been at Brighton for three years and Erik had been at Man United for six weeks if that [when I beat him early in the season].
“There are many processes that you have to go through and it is normal. Because it has the qualities, I’m pretty sure they will get better and better as they go along ”.
Potter avoided any new injury issues before the weekend despite passing a physical away match at Brentford on Wednesday night.
Conor Gallagher fell ill in the 0-0 draw but is likely to be available with longtime absentees N’Golo Kante, Reece James and Wesley Fofana still out.
“We are still in the recovery phase,” he added. “It’s more or less how we were with Brentford. Conor (Gallagher) trained today, so we’ll see how it will be in the 24 hours.”
Adding the injuries of James and Kante that will see them skip the World Cup: “[James] is under a brace for four weeks to stabilize the knee, then it’s rehabilitation. It will take about eight weeks. This is the last.
“The most important thing for us and for me is that we arrive [Kante] fit, this is the focal point. It has a long way to go. We need to get him back in shape and strong. When he is fit and enjoys playing football, we can think about these things [like his contract situation] then.
“They are human beings. The reality is that I have nothing to say that will make things better for them. You have to focus on the things that you can control, rehabilitate, go day by day.”
