Fernandez benched, James starts and no Cucurella - Chelsea line-up Maresca should pick vs Man Utd

Chelsea will be looking for a first Premier League victory at Old Trafford since 2013 when the Blues take on Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

The west Londoners have had a torrid time away at the Red Devils since then but will be hoping to capitalise on the mass change that has happened behind the scenes over the past few days in Manchester. Erik ten Hag was relieved of his duties on Monday with Ruud van Nistelrooy taking over in the interim.

Ruben Amorim has since been appointed head coach but will not join until later in the month, meaning the Portuguese coach will not be in the dugout for when Man Utd welcome Chelsea to town this weekend. Maresca did not really want to get into United's situation in his press conference on Friday and instead wanted to talk about his own squad.

And that is a good thing with Maresca having some difficult decisions to make on Sunday. Below, Bobby Vincent and Sam Truelove discuss and debate what they would do if they were in the head coach's shoes.

Bobby Vincent

Robert Sanchez to return in goal after Filip Jorgensen played the Carabao Cup match with Newcastle United in the week. Neither goalkeeper has impressed massively this season but it seems a dead certainty that Maresca will keep his faith and trust in Sanchez at Old Trafford.

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Reece James to return to right-back after his stint on the other side last week with Malo Gusto on the left. Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill in the centre of the defence with Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo sitting in front of them to try and give the defenders a quieter 90 minutes.

Noni Madueke on the right, Pedro Neto on the left and Cole Palmer behind Nicolas Jackson. Jadon Sancho is ineligible for this one but the recent form of Neto has been really positive anyway.

Bobby's XI: Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Gusto; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.

Sam Truelove

Manchester United have announced Amorim as their new manager but the 39-year-old will not be in the dugout at Old Trafford as he does not officially start until November 11. There will be a feel-good atmosphere in Manchester and Maresca's Chelsea side have a real opportunity to make a statement.

Sanchez would be my pick in goal, with Fofana and Colwill ahead of him. Reece James has to start as he has looked decent since making his comeback so I would play Marc Cucurella at left-back, which is perhaps a little harsh on Malo Gusto.

Caicedo and Lavia look impressive when playing together and will need to be at their best if Chelsea are to beat the Red Devils. Ahead of them will be Palmer, who will be looking to score his eighth Premier League goal of the season.

Madueke and Neto would be my picks out wide and the duo could cause the United backline some real problems with their pace and trickery. Up top is Jackson. The 23-year-old has started the campaign really well and already has nine goal contributions in nine league games.

Sam's XI: Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.

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