Guus Hiddink was unable to mark his return back to Chelsea with a victory after his side could manage only a 2-2 draw against Watford at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day.
Nonetheless, Chelsea could have managed to claim the victory if it were not for a missed Oscar penalty and it has to be said that the Blues displayed improvements in some areas of the pitch during the clash.
Hiddink will now be looking to take the positives from the game against Watford when his side travel to Old Trafford to square off against rivals Manchester United on Monday and it will be interesting to see if the Dutchman will be able to pile more misery on his compatriot Louis van Gaal.
Here is the Probable Strongest Possible Lineup for Chelsea against Manchester United –
Goalkeeper
While managers tend to change their squads around during the extremely challenging festive period, it is very likely that Thibaut Courtois will retain his place in the Chelsea starting lineup for the encounter against Manchester United.
Courtois was unlucky to concede twice against Watford and the Belgian international will now surely be hoping for better fortunes against the toothless looking United attack.
Defence
At the back, Hiddink decided to go with an experienced lineup consisting of the likes of Gary Cahill, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta and Branislav Ivanovic during the clash against Watford.
With only a day’s gap between the games though, it is very likely that Hiddink might change things around at the back in order to keep things fresh.
As a result, one can expect Kurt Zouma to be brought into the starting lineup while Kenedy and Abdul Baba Rahman may also be considered for selection in the full back positions.
Midfield
Cesc Fabregas was subbed off at half time in the game against Chelsea, with John Obi Mikel coming in as replacement. Mikel performed well after coming on and it is a possibility that the Nigerian star will be handed a start against United in the middle of the park alongside Nemanja Matic.
In the attacking positions, the likes of Oscar and Willian look like certain starters once again but Eden Hazard might come in for Pedro after being dropped from the start against Watford. Brazilian midfielder Ramires is also within a good shout of starting on the day.
Attack
Diego Costa picked up a silly booking against Watford which means that he will be suspended for the clash against United. Loic Remy will in all likelihood start in the absence of Costa while the participation of Radamel Falcao remains in doubt.
(4-2-3-1)
Via – Lineup Builder
