A struggling Manchester United host an unbeaten Chelsea at Old Trafford on Saturday in matchweek five of the Premier League.
The two sides come into the high-profile fixture in contrasting form. United have lost two out of their four matches in the league, suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal on the opening matchday of the Premier League and being outclassed 3-0 by their local rivals, Manchester City, last weekend.
In between these two fixtures, United managed to pick up their only win of the campaign so far, a narrow 3-2 victory against Burnley at Old Trafford, and also managed a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw against Fulham, meaning they go into the fixture precariously placed 14th in the league table and with huge pressure on head coach Ruben Amorim.
Meanwhile, Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend of the league before managing comprehensive wins over West Ham and Fulham and a 2-2 draw away at Brentford last weekend.
However, they lost 3-1 to Bayern Munich on Tuesday in their opening game of the UEFA Champions League.
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Chelsea’s unbeaten start to the league sees them go into this fixture sitting comfortably in fifth place in the table.
Man United vs. Chelsea lineups: Starting XI, team news, injury latest
United received some good news on Friday as Amorim confirmed that Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount were fit to face Chelsea. That leaves Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martinez as their main injury absentees.
New signing Senne Lammens will keep waiting to make his Premier League debut in goal for the club. Matthijs de Ligt is expected to lead the backline, which also consists of Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, although the latter had a poor game last time out against Man City.
In midfield, it will be interesting to see if Amorim bites the bullet and gives Kobbie Mainoo a start following an impressive cameo against City, although the return of Mount and Cunha could mean Bruno Fernandes drops back to partner Casemiro. Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu start at wing-back, which means Amad Diallo moves up to the attack with Mason Mount to the bench.
Man United starting XI (3-4-2-1, right to left): Lammens (GK) — Maguire, De Ligt, Shaw — Mazraoui, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu — Mbeumo, Diallo — Sesko.
Man United subs: Lammens (GK), Heaven, Yoro, Fredricson, Mainoo, Ugarte, Mount, Cunha, Zirkzee.
Injured: Dalot (muscle injury), Martinez (ACL)
Suspended: None
Chelsea have also been dealt their fair share of injuries as they will be without the services of Liam Delap, Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo, Benoit Badiashile and Romeo Lavia.
Having faced Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night, Enzo Maresca would ideally like to rest a few players who played in that game, but it seems unlikely that it will happen.
All eyes will be on Chelsea’s talisman, Cole Palmer, who was feeling his groin towards the end of the Champions League encounter, but Maresca confirmed that he is fine to feature on Saturday.
The creative burden up front will rest on Palmer along with Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian, while Joao Pedro features as the striker. Former United winger Alejandro Garnacho will have to wait to appear against his old club.
Chelsea starting XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Sanchez (GK) — Gusto, Chalobah, Adarabioyo, Cucurella — Fernandez, Caicedo — Estevao, Palmer, Neto — Joao Pedro.
Chelsea subs: Jorgensen (GK), Hato, Gusto, Adarabioyo, Santos, Gittens, Garnacho, George, Guiu.
Injured: Colwill (ACL), Delap (hamstring injury), Essugo (thigh injury), Badiashile, Lavia (fitness, doubt)
Suspended: Mudryk (doping violation)
Man United vs. Chelsea match details
- Date: Saturday, September 20, 2025
- Kickoff time: 5:30 p.m. local / 12:30 p.m. ET/ 9:30 a.m. PT
- Location: Old Trafford, Manchester (England)
- Competition: Premier League
- Referee: Peter Bankes
- VAR: Craig Pawson
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