Chelsea vs Man Utd: Fernandes back as Chelsea lose Lacroix

Update (30 Oct, 17:00 GMT): the 22-man travelling squad is in. Mainoo and Martínez are on it. Shaw and Rashford are not.

Chelsea vs Man Utd on Saturday (12:30 GMT, TNT Sports 1, referee Peter Bankes) comes at a moment when Chelsea are short at centre-back and Manchester United are about to get their captain back. Xabi Alonso confirmed on Friday that Maxence Lacroix will be out for a few weeks and Jorrel Hato is still missing, while Bruno Fernandes is expected to return after his clear-the-air talks with Michael Carrick.

That gives United a narrow opening at Stamford Bridge. For us, the only way Carrick takes it is by being braver with the ball than United have been for weeks.

Chelsea team news: Lacroix out, Caicedo fit

Alonso gave his update at his Friday press conference, as reported by BBC Sport. Lacroix limped off in Wednesday's Carabao Cup defeat on penalties at Liverpool. "Max picked up an injury and we expect he will not be available before the international break. He will be out for a few weeks," Alonso said.

His replacements are not settled. "With Max's injury, Wes [Fofana], Levi [Colwill], Josh [Acheampong] and Jorrel can play centre-back," Alonso said, but Hato remains sidelined. Moisés Caicedo is fine after appearing to pick up a knock at Anfield, with Alonso replying "no issue" when asked about him, and Pep Chavarria is back in the squad.

Emiliano Martínez is not ready either. The goalkeeper has been out since needing jaw surgery after the win at Everton, Chelsea's website says. Asked whether he could return before the international break, Alonso said: "Yes there is a chance. We need to still wait for the next week, let's see how things go. In case he is ready to play, he will need a face mask."

João Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Reece James are among the other absentees. Chelsea are fifth with 13 points from eight games, but they lost at home to Tottenham last weekend, when Cole Palmer was sent off.

Man Utd team news: Fernandes returns, Mainoo close

Fernandes was an unused substitute in the 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth, after criticising Carrick's system following the 4-1 loss at Como. The pair have since cleared the air and he's in line to start. Carrick confirmed on Thursday that Fernandes keeps the captaincy, and he has since said: "Absolutely no issue with Bruno [Fernandes]. We've moved forward, we look forward to the game."

Kobbie Mainoo has "done a bit of training" and is around the group, Carrick said on Thursday. A few days of training after four games out makes him a bench option, not a starter.

Benjamin Šeško is out for "a long period of time" with his shin injury and is expected to miss the rest of 2026. Joshua Zirkzee is the only natural centre-forward left.

The squad that travelled on Friday, as listed by the Manchester Evening News:

• Goalkeepers: Lammens, Darlow, Heaton, Mee
• Defenders: Maguire, Martínez, De Ligt, Heaven, Yoro, Dalot, Mazraoui
• Midfielders: Fernandes, Baleba, Mainoo, Mount, Santos, Tielemans
• Forwards: Mbeumo, Amad, Cunha, Lacey, Zirkzee

Shaw hasn't played since 10 October and Rashford has hip and thigh problems. Neither travelled. Patrick Dorgu (hamstring) and Manuel Ugarte are still out. That's no specialist left-back in the 22.

Why United have to go at Chelsea's back line

A centre-back pairing put together for the occasion, with Lacroix and Hato missing, is the one area where Chelsea look more vulnerable than United. The way to test it is with runners in behind and quick balls into the channels, not slow possession in front of a settled block.

That is where Fernandes matters. He is the one United player who will try the ball nobody else sees, even in a season when, as we argued before Leeds, the team around him has made his job harder. Without Šeško, Zirkzee is the one forward who can hold the ball up. Everyone else needs passes into space rather than to feet. Fernandes in the No 10 role, with runners ahead of him, gives United a far better chance of hurting a reshuffled defence than Fernandes dropping deep or playing as a false nine.

The risk is the other end. United conceded seven goals in their last two games, against Como and Bournemouth, and Chelsea at home will have more of the ball. The back three gave United their best half of the season at Leeds. With no left-back in the squad it's no longer a tactical choice, it's the only shape that doesn't strand a right-back on his wrong side. Whatever the shape, the intensity Carrick has talked about all week has to show up in the first 20 minutes, not the last 20.

What Alonso and Carrick said

Alonso was asked about Carrick's position. "I have great respect, I have great sympathy for Michael as a manager. I know him because we have played against each other. We played recently in a legends game and had a chat. He is a good guy and one you want to be around. Aside from that it is not for me to comment," he said.

He also made clear Chelsea are treating this as a must-win. "We are back in Premier League mode and that for me is the main competition for us - this year and almost every year. It is a big one. We didn't have long to prepare but [it's] really important after the last home game we had that we keep winning games and get that winning feeling."

Carrick says his squad are "hungry", and Youri Tielemans has publicly backed him to stay. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to be at Stamford Bridge. United won 1-0 there in April, which is the one piece of recent history on their side.

Predicted XI and score

Our predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Lammens; Yoro, Maguire, De Ligt; Amad, Tielemans, Baleba, Dalot; Fernandes, Mbeumo; Zirkzee.

Chelsea's home form has wobbled and their defence is patched up, but United have won once in eight league games and their problems are bigger. We think United score, with Fernandes involved, and still don't keep Chelsea out. Our prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd.

A point would not end the talk about Carrick's future. A performance with real intensity, the kind Tielemans and Carrick have promised, would at least change its tone before Roma at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Picture: Stamford Bridge from the air, by Arne Müseler via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 DE. Cropped to 16:9.