Chelsea and Manchester United will go head-to-head in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Friday night with both sides having European finals to come in the very near future.
Enzo Maresca’s side will compete in the Europa Conference League final on May 28th but are still competing for a place in next season’s Champions League via their league finish, but suffered a blow as they were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle last time out. Ruben Amorim’s side on the other hand will compete in the Europa League final on May 21st and currently sit in 16th in the table, having been beaten 2-0 by West Ham in their last outing.
Both teams have injury and selection concerns ahead of the games, leaving the managers with big decisions to make, and this is how GIVEMESPORT expects the teams to line up.
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Chelsea Team News
Jackson suspended
The Blues will be without starting striker Nicolas Jackson for the rest of the domestic season after he was sent off for a flailing elbow in the last game, landing him a three-game suspension.
Reece James missed training this week with an illness but is hopeful he’ll be available. Jadon Sancho is ineligible to feature against his parent club, while Wesley Fofana and Mykhailo Mudryk won’t feature again this season. Christopher Nkunku is unlikely to be available for this game too, but Marc Guiu could be fit enough to return.
|
Chelsea Injuries and Suspensions |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Injury |
Potential Return Date |
|
Marc Guiu |
Hamstring |
16/05/2025 |
|
Reece James |
Illness |
16/05/2025 |
|
Jadon Sancho |
Ineligible |
25/05/2025 |
|
Christopher Nkunku |
Knock |
25/05/2025 |
|
Omari Kellyman |
Hamstring |
01/06/2025 |
|
Wesley Fofana |
Hamstring |
07/07/2025 |
|
Nicolas Jackson |
Suspended |
18/08/2025 |
|
Mykhailo Mudryk |
Suspended |
Unknown |
|
Aaron Anselmino |
Hamstring |
Unknown |
Maresca Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Maresca shared an update on the squad ahead of the game.
“Christo [Nkunku] is still out. Reece James is now okay, he was out with illness for two [training] sessions. Yesterday he had a session with us, which is good.
“We don’t have Nico [Jackson] for this game and we are working on that. These are the options we have, unfortunately we don’t have many options [to play as a striker]
“Unfortunately, Marc Guiu is still coming back from injury. He has started to train with us recently but is not ready to start. So we are working on different options for Friday night in the absence of Nico.
“It depends a little bit on the game plan. When playing against a line of five, I prefer to have a ‘real’ nine because you need to attack behind, you need that threat.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have that so we need to find a solution. I like a ‘false’ nine when we face a line of four, because you can link a little more. But against five defenders, you need people running in behind. But it is what it is, and we need to find a different solution.”
Chelsea Predicted XI
James to start in defence
- Chelsea Predicted XI: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Palmer, Fernandez, Madueke; Neto.
- Chelsea Predicted Substitutes: Jorgensen (GK), Gusto (DEF), Tosin (DEF), Badiashile (DEF), Acheampong (DEF), Dewsbury-Hall (MID), Amougou (MID), George (FWD), Guiu (FWD)
With limited options in attack for this game due to injury and ineligibility, Enzo Fernandez could be moved into a more advanced midfield role which would bring Moises Caicedo back into midfield and Reece James moving to right-back.
£210,000-a-week duo Benoit Badiashile and Tosin should find themselves on the bench too, alongside young forwards Guiu and Tyrique George.
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Man Utd Team News
Yoro and De Ligt ruled out
Man Utd have been dealt a major defensive blow as centre-backs Leny Yoro and Matthijs De Ligt have been ruled out of the Chelsea game, and face a major race against time to be fit for the Europa League final.
Diogo Dalot is back in training but also won’t be risked against Chelsea, while Amorim is likely to rest a host of his regular stars in order to protect them for the game. Joshua Zirkzee and Lisandro Martinez are still unavailable, while Ayden Heaven isn’t training yet. Toby Collyer and Jonny Evans are available after long spells out.
|
Man Utd Injuries and Suspensions |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Injury |
Potential Return Date |
|
Toby Collyer |
Leg |
16/05/2025 |
|
Jonny Evans |
Back |
16/05/2025 |
|
Ayden Heaven |
Ankle |
21/05/2025 |
|
Diogo Dalot |
Calf |
21/05/2025 |
|
Matthijs De Ligt |
Knee |
21/05/2025 |
|
Leny Yoro |
Foot |
21/05/2025 |
|
Joshua Zirkzee |
Hamstring |
01/06/2025 |
|
Lisandro Martinez |
Knee |
01/01/2026 |
Amorim Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Amorim shared an update on the squad ahead of the game.
“I don’t know if they are going to be available.
“We are going to try to push because it’s the final matches and this is a final, you know that. All the players want to play that badly. I don’t know, I think they will not go to Chelsea [on Friday], but we will have the possibility to have some of them for the final.
“Dalot is trying really bad. I don’t want to risk Dalot because, when you start getting one injury, a second injury [follows] and it’s a big thing. We cannot have these kinds of problems in our squad. So, we will see, but he’s working really hard to get in the final.
“If there is a player that can get an injury [and is] not recovered for this game so [it] will put him in risk for the final, he will not play.
“But if it’s not that situation, we will have a lot of time to recover, and we cannot spend eight days, nine days without a game.
“That is a bad thing for the final so I think they will be prepared for the game.
“The best thing to prepare the final is to play the game. The players have to understand that if you play or don’t play against Chelsea, it means nothing to the final, that is important.
“I’m just preparing the game of Chelsea, that is my focus. We want to win and we want to perform.”
Man Utd Predicted XI
Chido Obi to start up front
- Man Utd Predicted XI: Onana; Fredricson, Maguire, Lindelof; Dorgu, Ugarte, Mainoo, Amass; Mount, Obi, Eriksen.
- Man Utd Predicted Substitutes: Bayindir (GK), Shaw (DEF), Kamason (DEF), Collyer (MID), Casemiro (MID), Fernandes (MID), Garnacho (FWD), Hojlund (FWD), Mantato (FWD).
Amorim must find the right balance with his team in order to get match rhythm in his key players while also protecting them, and that should see several regular starters benched.
Youngsters Tyler Fredricson, Harry Amass and Chido Obi should all start the game while academy stars Jaydan Kamason, Collyer, Garnacho and Mantato should be on the bench alongside £650,000-a-week duo Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro.
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