Chelsea host Man United as Carrick's men chase first win in 51 days

Chelsea and Manchester United meet at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon, with kick-off at 1.30pm Nigerian time. For Nigerian fans of both clubs, it is the headline fixture of the Premier League weekend.

United arrive in poor shape. Michael Carrick's side have won just two of their 12 matches this season and are on an eight-game winless run, according to Complete Sports. They sit 16th in the table after last weekend's 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, and are chasing a first win in 51 days.

Chelsea's form has been mixed: six wins, four losses and a draw. Three of those defeats came against London rivals Arsenal, Brentford and Tottenham, and they went out of the Carabao Cup in midweek, losing 6-5 on penalties to Liverpool after a 1-1 draw.

Team news and the men to watch

Carrick has named a 22-man squad, according to Manchester Evening News, as reported by Daily Post and The Sun. Captain Bruno Fernandes is included after being dropped for the Bournemouth game, along with Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee. Kobbie Mainoo is back in training and could feature.

United are without Patrick Dorgu, Luke Shaw, Benjamin Sesko and Manuel Ugarte, while Marcus Rashford faces a late fitness test and is likely to start on the bench.

Chelsea will be missing Joao Pedro, who picked up a thigh injury in training and could be out until late November. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is out with a facial injury and captain Reece James will not return this year. Cole Palmer is set to come back after serving a one-match ban.

Bryan Mbeumo has been United's bright spot with four goals and an assist, and has three goals and three assists in his last five league games against Chelsea. For the Blues, Morgan Rogers, a £117 million signing from Aston Villa, has four goals and four assists, while Palmer has four goals and three assists.

History favours United overall: they have won 83 of the 195 meetings to Chelsea's 57, with 55 draws. United also beat Chelsea home and away last season, winning the first leg 2-1 and the second 1-0 in west London.

But Chelsea have won two of the last 17 league meetings, both at home. United are chasing three straight league wins over Chelsea for the first time since the 1965/66 season.

What happens next

A United win would ease pressure on Carrick and lift them away from the lower reaches of the table. Defeat would deepen the gloom at Old Trafford. For Chelsea, three points would steady a season that has slipped outside the top four.