📅 October 31, 2026
Chelsea v Man United Line-Ups: Bruno Back as Captain, Three Changes
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Bruno Fernandes is back in the team and wearing the armband. Michael Carrick has made three changes from the side that lost 3-0 to Bournemouth for this afternoon’s trip to Chelsea, and the XI is the exact one we predicted yesterday.
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is 12.30pm UK time, 8.30am Eastern.
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Manchester United (4-2-3-1)
Lammens; Yoro, Maguire, Martínez, Dalot; Baleba, Santos; Amad, Fernandes (c), Cunha; Mbeumo.
Subs: Darlow, Mazraoui, de Ligt, Heaven, Mainoo, Tielemans, Mount, Lacey, Zirkzee.
The three changes
- Fernandes for Tielemans. The captain sat on the bench for all 90 minutes against Bournemouth. After Tuesday’s talks with Carrick he goes straight back in at No. 10, and he has the armband back from Harry Maguire.
- Lisandro Martínez for Ayden Heaven. Martínez came off the bench last weekend. He partners Maguire in the middle, with Yoro and Dalot the full-backs.
- Matheus Cunha for Mason Mount. Cunha came on at half-time against Bournemouth. He starts today, with Amad on the other side and Bryan Mbeumo leading the line.
Kobbie Mainoo is back in a matchday squad after missing four games and starts on the bench. Marcus Rashford isn’t in the squad, after missing training this week with his hip problem. Benjamin Sesko, Luke Shaw, Patrick Dorgu and Manuel Ugarte were already ruled out.
Chelsea (3-4-2-1)
Penders; Acheampong, Fofana, Colwill; Neto, Caicedo (c), Lavia, Palestra; Estêvão, Palmer; Rogers.
Subs: Sharman-Lowe, Gusto, Chavarría, Barco, Nicoll-Jazuli, Subuloye, Quenda, Emegha, Welbeck.
Cole Palmer is back from suspension. Morgan Rogers leads the line with Joao Pedro injured, and Mike Penders is in goal with Emiliano Martinez out. Danny Welbeck, Malo Gusto and Geovany Quenda are on the bench.
What it means
This is Carrick’s strongest available side, with the captain back in. Santos and Baleba have to cope with Lavia and Caicedo in the middle. On the flanks, Dalot and Yoro are up against Neto and Palestra, who’ll push high. The question is whether Fernandes, Cunha and Amad can find space behind them.
United go in as the underdogs. We’ll have the match report after the final whistle.
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Sources: Both line-ups, formations, captains and benches from the Premier League’s official match data (fixture 129006), cross-checked against ESPN’s match feed; both agree on every starter. The Bournemouth XI and captain from the Premier League’s data for fixture 129001. Injuries and team news from our preview (RotoWire, Racing Post, BBC, Sky, Hayters).