Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has reportedly not traveled with the match-day squad as Mourinho prepares to face former club Chelsea.
It is set for a wonderful viewing both for the on-lookers in the stadium and the fans watching it through other mediums as Stamford Bridge welcomes their Special One back, albeit as the manager of a rival club in Manchester United.
There are doubts as to whether Conte would choose to field Brazilian duo Willian and Oscar, who were sidelined due to personal issues. The duo stayed back in Brazil due to the demise of the former’s mother while the latter also attended a family bereavement. It is doubtful if they will be in the best of mental states right now to tackle an opposition like Manchester United.
Cesc Fabregas and Branislav Ivanovic are out with a thigh injury and a muscle sprain respectively while Kurt Zouma is still a week or so shy from full fitness. Elsewhere, there is some good news for the Blues as John Terry.
Jose Mourinho had said during mid-week that Mkhitaryan needed to work more in order to gain match fitness. And according to news coming out from the club, Wayne Rooney and the Armenian have not travelled with the United squad to face Chelsea.
Wayne Rooney started in the mid-week game and is likely to be used sparingly by Mourinho, as has been the case in recent matches. The United captain has gone six games without scoring against Chelsea and is set to not feature at all in the Sunday clash.
Chris Smalling came off at half-time with complaints of a muscular sprain and is likely to be assessed prior to the match. The rest of the squad, barring Phil Jones, does not seem to have any issues as Jose Mourinho goes into the Chelsea game with almost a fully fit squad at his disposal.
One thing is for certain – Mourinho will be set to retain the core of De Gea, Bailly, Pogba while players like Herrera, Blind, Rashford and Mata are likely to get into the starting lineup based on their form. With reports of Rooney not being included in the matchday squad, Zlatan is more or less confirmed as the frontman.
Carrick could be a surprise inclusion if Mourinho does decide to explore the 4-3-3 formation with Herrera and Pogba on either side of the veteran. But the selection looks unlikely with Carrick having played during the mid-week.
