REDKNAPP VS SOUNESS ON POGBA
Graeme Souness does not hold back in his assessment on Paul Pogba at times, but Jamie Redknapp is not in agreement of his view on the midfielder’s 2018 form…
JOSE EXPLAINS MATA SELECTION
Jose Mourinho tells Sky Sports before the game: “Juan Mata is Juan Mata. He is one of our I like to call team players. He’s always available for the team, he thinks about the team, he’s not selfish or egocentric, he just wants to help. Sometimes he starts, sometimes off the bench, he is a proper professional.
SOUNESS ON SARRI
Graeme Souness tells Sky Sports he has been impressed with Maurizio Sarri’s start at Stamford Bridge – but the true test of his leadership is yet to come.
He said: “He would appear to be a very likeable football man. He looks like a friendly granddad. But we’re yet to find out about him in some ways. I’m thinking about Jose Mourinho and when he came back and said he was the ‘happy one’.
“We’re all the same as managers if we’re winning, we’re nice to be around, but if we’re not we’re not nice to be around. We’ll find a lot more about him when they lose a couple of games, and so will the players.
“I used to say when I got a job and went into the dressing room, that we will only find out about each other when we lose two or three games. We can all be winners, we can all be big personalities, but that’s easy to have when you’re winning games. We’ll have to see how this all develops.”
SARRI EXPLAINS BARKLEY OMISSION
Maurizio Sarri, talking to Sky Sports before today’s game, said: “[Mateo] Kovavic played only the first game over the international break, so I think think he is fresher. I’m very happy with Ross too, Ross has played two matches in four days so for today I thought it was better to play with Kovacic.”
Looking forward to the match, he said: “I don’t know what kind of game to expect. In the starting 11, they are very offensive, but we want to follow our philosophy, have possession and be in control of the match. But we want to avoid the counter-attack too.”
Chelsea vs Manchester United LIVE score and goal updates
HERE COME THE TEAMS…
The teams are out at Stamford Bridge. Here’s a reminder of today’s line-ups:
Chelsea: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Willian, Morata, Hazard.
Manchester United: De Gea, Young, Lindelof, Smalling, Shaw, Pogba, Matic, Mata, Rashford, Lukaku, Martial.