Werner and Martial miss out on Chelsea-Man Utd Combined XI

Manchester United make the trip to Chelsea today in a bid to keep their faint title hopes alive. Victory will see them close the gap to Manchester City to 10 points once more and with the Manchester Derby looming, three points is key at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, though, have been solid since Thomas Tuchel took charge, winning six of eight games and conceding just two goals in that period. 

Ahead of the massive game at Stamford Bridge, we take a look at the combined XI. For this team, injured and suspended players are not included, so the likes of Thiago Silva, Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay don't come into consideration. Those who make the cut needed to have made 10 or more appearances this season, while the ratings for those included are from starts alone in 2020/21. 

This is an evenly split team, with Chelsea edging out United with six players to five. Between the sticks, Edouard Mendy (6.50) features in place of David De Gea (6.44) with the former proving a solid capture from Rennes. There are two players apiece in defence, with Kurt Zouma (7.21) ensuring it is not an all-English backline. Harry Maguire (7.00) partners the Chelsea man at the heart of the backline with Reece James (7.17) and Luke Shaw (7.03) rounding off the defence. 

Jorginho (7.12) anchors the midfield with Fred (7.04) and Mason Mount (7.45) flanking the Italian. Scott McTominay (7.22) would have come into the side in place of Fred had he not been sidelined for this clash. Bruno Fernandes (7.58) features in the number 10 role and is the highest rated player between the two sides. 

Leading the charge is English attacking pair Tammy Abraham (7.16) and Marcus Rashford (7.27), which means there is no place in the XI for either Timo Werner or Anthony Martial (both 6.85) with the struggling pair hoping to use today's clash to improve their fortunes in front of goal.