Anthony Martial update ahead of Chelsea clash

Manchester United forward Anthony Martial is set to miss Saturday’s clash against Chelsea.

The Frenchman has been out for the last three games, nursing a back injury picked during the Everton clash.

He had to be pulled out before the half-hour mark in that game played on October 9. The setback means Martial has only started one match for the Red Devils this season.

United played arguably their best game in ages on Wednesday when they beat Tottenham 2-0 at Old Trafford. 

United boss Erik ten Hag may be tempted to go with the same starting lineup for that clash.

Perhaps the return of Christian Eriksen, who missed the tie against Newcastle due to an undisclosed illness, could be the big boost ahead of the tie.

In his absence, the Brazilian duo of Fred and Casemiro held the fort in midfield and were both in fine form. 

In fact, Fred was on target, sealing the win for Ten Hag’s man. Interestingly, Chelsea are just a place above Manchester United – fourth place – with just a point separating them.

Chelsea are unbeaten under Graham Potter, who recently replaced Tuchel and has been in charge for seven games. 

Potter defeated Manchester United on the opening day of the season with Brighton.

However, the new Chelsea boss believes Saturday’s clash is a whole different ball game.

“A lot. I have huge respect for [Erik] Ten Hag, the job he’s done in his career, and his quality as a coach. You can see people adapt and adjust as they go into the competition faze. So they have done well. Obviously, it wasn’t a great start from their perspective, but they’ve battled back, got points and played well. It’s going to be a tough game,” Potter said.

He added that six weeks was too short to get his personality onto the Chelsea side.

“It depends on whom you listen to you take opinion from that. The personality is that of the players at the moment, absolutely. They’ve understood there is a challenge to be had and they’ve taken it up. They’ve been brilliant, really honest and responsible. So the personality is all them. You’ve got to wait for my boring one to emerge!”