Chelsea & Man United Combined XI

Chelsea versus Manchester United at Stamford Bridge is arguably the most anticipated fixture in the English Premier League this weekend.

The two European giants are at contrasting ends at the moment – one at the top of the EPL table, currently the holders of the UEFA Champions League and Super Cup trophies and boast one of the best squad and coach in the world. Meanwhile the other have been trophy-less for four years (and counting), struggling for results at the moment and are still trying to mark down a new manager following the sack of a club legend.

A combined starting lineup of these two sides will unavoidably end up being one-sided considering the gulf in class and quality of players in their squads.

Below is the list of players that will make a combined XI between Chelsea and Manchester United:

Goalkeeeper – Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)

The Senegalese shot stopper has been nothing but excellent for Chelsea since his arrival from Rennes last season. The UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year recently equalled the legendary Petr Cech’s record of 35 clean sheets in 60 appearances. I don’t think many people will argue when we say he is way ahead of David De Gea at the moment.

Defenders – Varane (Man United), Rudiger & Thiago Silva (Chelsea)

Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger have been instrumental to Chelsea’s recent trail of successes. The duo makes the eleven alongside Raphael Varane – a World Cup and Nations League winner who has 4 UEFA Champions League trophies.

Wing backs – Chilwell & Reece James (Chelsea)

Thomas Tuchel has redefined the role of wing backs with these two young English men. They have been handed goalscoring responsibilities and are taken to their new roles like duck to water.

Midfielders – Jorginho, N’Golo Kante (Chelsea) & Bruno Fernandes (Man United)

Chelsea have two of the best defensive midfielders in the world in N’Golo Kante and Jorginho. Both players claimed the Midfielder of the year and Men’s player of the year honors respectively at the recent edition of the UEFA awards. They are also in the running for the soon to be announced Ballon D’or award. 

While Chelsea have the best deep midfielders, no player in their ranks is as creative as Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese midfield maestro is so accurate and effective with his forward passing, positioning in the box, finishing and his ability to shoot from range – attributes which no Chelsea midfielder possesses.

Strikers – Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) & Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is still at the top of his game aged 36 while Lukaku is at the peak of his powers at 28 years. The duo finished as the top two goalscorers in the Italian Serie A last season with Ronaldo pipping the golden boot over the Belgian after a closely contested goalscoring marathon. They will lead the attack in our combined starting lineup.

In a 3-5-2 formation, below is the best eleven that a mix of Chelsea and Manchester can produced.