Chelsea suffer £52m star injury blow ahead of Manchester United showdown

Manchester United’s upcoming opponents Chelsea have suffered a major injury concern ahead of this weekend’s match.

Michael Carrick is desperate for a win when Manchester United head to Stamford Bridge. His job is under severe threat, after heavy speculation he would be fired after the defeat to Bournemouth.

Manchester United have not won a Premier League game since August, and enter the weekend situated in 16th place in the Premier League table.

Opponents Chelsea have suffered an injury blow ahead of the encounter, with £52 million centre-back Maxence Lacroix sustaining a muscle problem during their Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool.

Manager Xabi Alonso said post-game: “Too early to tell. Probably he felt something on the hamstrings. And we need a couple of days to check what’s going to be the injury.”

The early kick-off on Saturday reduces the recovery time for Lacroix, who could be facing weeks out if the injury is severe.

Lacroix scored against United for Crystal Palace last season, during the visitors’ 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.

Chelsea are currently without injured goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, defender Reece James, and forward Joao Pedro.

Manchester United have been dealt an injury boost with Kobbie Mainoo returning to training this week.

Benjamin Sesko will be out until January, however, and there are questions over Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford, and Patrick Dorgu.

Bruno Fernandes is expected to be back in the starting line-up for United after patching up his differences with Michael Carrick.

A little pressure building on Chelsea

There is no escaping that Manchester United are the crisis club in the Premier League right now, but it’s amazing how this could quickly flip with a good result or two.

While Michael Carrick is under major pressure to get a win at Stamford Bridge, where the team won 1-0 last season, there is also a sense of alarm at Chelsea too.

Chelsea lost 2-0 at home to Tottenham last weekend, their first defeat at home to London rivals Spurs since 2018.

Last night they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties away at Liverpool, a game that will have added some fatigue to their legs.

A win for United would bring us only three points behind Chelsea in the table. If they were to lose another home game – the pressure could quickly switch from Carrick to Alonso.

The one piece of good news for Chelsea is that Cole Palmer is available after his red card at the weekend. He served his suspension in their Carabao Cup fixture.