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Chelsea team news, injury latest and suspensions ahead of Manchester United trip

Chelsea will come up against a Manchester United side who are desperate for revenge, following their FA Cup exit and humiliation earlier in the season at Stamford Bridge.

The battle between Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte has become one of the most watchable sporting contests in the UK as Chelsea battle for the title and United chase fourth place.

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Tottenham will be hopeful that Chelsea drop points at Old Trafford as they try to close a seven-point gap at the top of the Premier League table with seven games let to go.



CHELSEA INJURIES




Victor Moses made his return for Chelsea against Bournemouth at the weekend as his side ran out 3-1 winners at the Vitality Stadium. He made his comeback after missing two games for his club and another two for his country.

Thibaut Courtois and David Luiz require ongoing treatment forhip and knee injuries, respectively, while Cesar Azpilicueta has been playing with a broken bone in his hand. However, none are expected to miss the trip to Manchester.

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Luiz's minor knee injury was sustained after Sergio Aguero's red-card tackle in Decemberbut he has carefully managed the situation to avoid missing much first-team action. Chelsea have yet to announce their full injury update but all of their players are expected to be fit.

Victor Moses
Victor Moses



CHELSEA SUSPENSIONS




Chelsea have no players suspended for the match and have had few issues with discipline all season. John Terry has been their only player to besent off, in the FA Cup against Peterborough United.



The cut off points for accumulations of 10 yellow cards will also pass after last weekend's games and Chelsea avoided any of their players being banned. Costa and Luiz are both on eight bookings but will not hit the quota of 10 bookings before then.



CHELSEA POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP




Conte reverted back to his 3-4-3 formation against Bournemouth despite experimenting in a 3-5-2 formation against Crystal Palace and Manchester City.

The return of Moses means that Chelsea look more balanced in the formation that saw them go on a 13 match winning run and they will likely look to continue in this way against Manchester United.

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The switch of formation against Palace wasn't successful but, against Man City, 3-5-2 was used to stop David Silva from dictating play as Kurt Zouma was subbed off at half-time.

Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas will compete for a spot in central midfielder, while Willian and Pedro will also compete for a right forward position, but there are few other chances of player rotations.

Conte has used the same core of 14 players all season and, even as Diego Costamisfires in front of goal, the striker is expected to continue leading the line.

Chelsea XI
Chelsea XI



MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM NEWS




Manchester United have faced a busier fixture list in recent weeks which has led to a worse injury record than Chelsea. Juan Mata has been perhaps the most missed player after suffering a groin injury and he is not expected to be back in time to face his old club.

Antonio Valencia is back after making his return in mid-week against Anderlecht but Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are out in defence.

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Ashley Young, who now operates as a left back, is also expected to miss out with a knock but Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney could return. He will likely feature from the bench, rather than start the game.

HD Juan Mata Manchester United
HD Juan Mata Manchester United



BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS







  • Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been involved in 18 goals in his last 17 Premier League appearances (13 goals, 5 assists) for Manchester United.



TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME




The game is being shown at 16:00 on Sky Sports1 in the UK on Sunday night.