Chelsea face what looks like a must-win match against Manchester United on Friday evening. The Blues are fifth in the Premier League table going into the final two rounds of fixtures this season, and while their current position is enough for Champions League qualification, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are both breathing down their necks.
A slip up at Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon has ramped the pressure on Enzo Maresca and his squad for the final two games of the campaign. United come to Stamford Bridge on Friday, nine days before the last game of the season away to Nottingham Forest – in what could be a winner-takes-all scenario.
However, the Blues will be missing four players for the game on Friday night. Jadon Sancho is ineligible to take on United, his current employers, while Nicolas Jackson will serve the first game of his three-match suspension following a straight red card at St. James’ Park.
Christopher Nkunku is close to returning from a knock but will not be available at Stamford Bridge. It is a similar situation for Marc Guiu, although he has been out for a much longer period of time than his colleague.
For Manchester United, meanwhile, Diogo Dalot, Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro are all expected to be absent from the match in west London due to respective injuries. Toby Collyer and Jonny Evans, though, have been training with the rest of the squad in recent days. Meanwhile, it was revealed by the Manchester Evening News on Thursday that young centre-back Ayden Heaven has been included in the travelling squad to face Chelsea.
United have a season-defining Europa League final against Tottenham next Wednesday, so manager Ruben Amorim may have half an eye on the trip to Bilbao. When asked about what his team selection will be at Stamford Bridge, Amorim said: “If there is a player that is not recovered for this game, so [it] will put him at risk for the final, he will not play.
“I’m just preparing [for] the [Chelsea] game, that is my focus. We want to win, and we want to perform.”