Chelsea vs Man Utd preview: Carrick needs Bruno back
Chelsea vs Man Utd preview: Carrick still in charge, Bruno set to return, Palmer back for Chelsea and what April's 1-0 at the Bridge proves. Plus my call.
Ten points. That's how far clear of Chelsea we were when Matheus Cunha sidefooted in Bruno Fernandes's cutback on 43 minutes at Stamford Bridge in April. Six months on, Chelsea vs Man Utd on Saturday has us 16th on seven points from eight games, six behind a Chelsea side that were getting booed off that day. Same fixture, same manager in our dugout, and a sixteen-point swing in the wrong direction.
Three questions hang over this one, and none of the answers are comfortable.
Why is Carrick still in the dugout?
Because nobody above him has made a decision. After the 0-3 at home to Bournemouth almost everyone expected him to go. Instead the hierarchy has, as Brit Brief reports it, given him "another chance", and on Thursday he faced the press as the man taking the team to London. Asked if he was surprised to still be in the job, he said: "No. I'm here to do my job." He also said "I don't need assurances from anyone."
Read more: Man Utd vs Bournemouth preview: Carrick's last chance
He's not getting any either, and that's the worst of both worlds. A manager who knows he's being judged on 90 minutes picks safe, and safe is exactly what lost us the Bournemouth game. If Wilcox and Berrada wanted a fresh voice, the time was Monday. If they back Carrick, say so. Leaving him hanging over a trip to the Bridge is the club ducking the call again. That's on them, not him.
Does Bruno start, and who's even left?
He should, and it's expected. Sports Mole has Bruno back in the XI behind Cunha, and Carrick spent Thursday closing the row down: "Bruno is fully committed to this football club. I've got no issues with that, we move forward." On the armband: "There's no decision to be made on that."
So what was the benching for? We lost 3-0 without him and didn't create a big chance, and four days later he's the captain everyone's moving forward with. Go back to April. Who made the winner at the Bridge? Bruno, with the cutback for Cunha, and he was player of the match. He's the one player here who has proved he can hurt Chelsea, and Carrick sat him down for a point-scoring exercise he's now quietly dropped. Not good enough.
The rest of the team news is the usual list. Šeško's shin is a longer absence with no date from Carrick. Shaw, Ugarte and Dorgu are out again, and Rashford is listed as unavailable by one preview and a doubt by another. The one bit of good news is Mainoo. "Kobbie has done a little bit of training yesterday," Carrick said, which sounds like the bench at most.
Are Chelsea actually any good?
Better than us, which isn't the same thing. Under Xabi Alonso they've been all over the place. They put five past Bournemouth at the Bridge on 10 October, the same Bournemouth who put three past us at Old Trafford. Then last Saturday they lost 0-2 at home to Spurs, the Spurs we could only draw with, and this week they went out of the Carabao Cup to Liverpool on penalties.
They've got holes too. João Pedro, who scored twice against Bournemouth, is ruled out. So is Emiliano Martínez, which leaves young Mike Penders in goal, and Lacroix went off with a hamstring at Liverpool. Alonso said "It's too early to tell how serious it is."
The problem is Palmer. He's back from his ban, and Sports Mole thinks he could play as a false nine with João Pedro out. A Palmer drifting off the front into the space between our midfield and back four is the one thing this team can't cope with. We've been behind early in game after game this season, and against him, at their place, that space will be there from the first minute unless Santos and Baleba actually hold a line.
Chelsea's own fans aren't sure about Saturday either. Chidge from Chelsea FanCast told us he went 2-1 because it's what he predicts "when I don't have a clue". Fair enough. Nobody has a clue with either of these sides.
April showed what we look like with Bruno on the ball and a manager everyone believed in. We've still got Bruno. My call: Chelsea 2-1 Man Utd. Bruno makes one, Palmer makes the difference, and Carrick goes into Roma with nine without a win. I've called the result right in each of the last four, so check how our past calls went before you argue. The full record is on our head-to-head page.
