\n<\/p>\n
Who:<\/strong> Chelsea vs Manchester United Chelsea can tighten up the Premier League battle for UEFA Champions League qualification when they host third-placed Manchester United on Saturday, but they will have to reverse a dreadful run of form to do so.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n The Blues have only won one of their last five Premier League matches, increasing the pressure on manager Liam Rosenior in his first season in charge of the football club.<\/p>\n United suffered a shock home defeat by Leeds United last week and arrive with injuries and suspensions that will leave them feeling vulnerable for the first time under interim head coach Michael Carrick.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at a game that could ignite a late-season scrap for the top five finishing spots, which offer the route to Europe\u2019s top table next season.<\/p>\n Third-placed United will arrive at Stamford Bridge with sixth-placed Chelsea seven points behind them.<\/p>\n Fifth-placed Liverpool are four points in front of the Blues, while Aston Villa are fourth, level on points with United but seven down on the Red Devils on goal difference.<\/p>\n With Villa and Liverpool not playing until Sunday \u2013 Sunderland at home and Everton away, respectively \u2013 a Chelsea win would close the gap between third and sixth to just four points for Saturday at least.<\/p>\n Four clubs, including Sunderland and Everton, sit just two points behind Chelsea. A certain run of results across the weekend means just six points could separate third from tenth by the close of this round of matches.<\/p>\n If fans of a close race were to be particularly greedy, wins for Bournemouth and Fulham \u2013 11th and 12th, respectively \u2013 as well this weekend could mean the gap from third to 12th would only be eight points with five games to play.<\/p>\n As the former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once said: \u201cIt is squeaky bum time\u201d.<\/p>\n Rosenior has warned Chelsea that their bid to qualify for the Champions League is hanging in the balance.<\/p>\n The Blues are on a dismal run of one win from their last seven Premier League games, placing their hopes of reaching Europe\u2019s elite club competition in jeopardy.<\/p>\n It is more than six weeks since Chelsea last scored a goal in the league, but Rosenior knows there is no time left to feel sorry for themselves after last weekend\u2019s 3-0 home defeat against Manchester City.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the season goes on, the less games you have left, the more important the games become,\u201d Rosenior told reporters ahead of the game.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to take advantage of this moment. We\u2019re running out of time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to show that initiative on Saturday and play on the front foot and make up those points, which is still definitely possible.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I look at each game, I think it\u2019s just come down to loss of concentration of focus in a moment that then has snowballed into the rest of the performances.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we have to do is manage the margins of the game a little bit better.\u201d<\/p>\n A protest by Chelsea supporters is planned ahead of the United game, reflecting the growing discontent since owners BlueCo took over from Roman Abramovich almost four years ago.<\/p>\n Unless results improve drastically in the next few weeks, this season will be the first under the club\u2019s American owners that the team\u2019s league position has dropped.<\/p>\n Rosenior\u2019s position is also likely to come under scrutiny after a disappointing start to his reign, which started in January when he arrived from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca.<\/p>\n Maresca departed by mutual consent after hinting he did not receive sufficient support from the owners.<\/p>\n Strasbourg are owned by BlueCo, which led some fans to criticise Rosenior\u2019s appointment and claim he would be a puppet for the board, in contrast to the volatile Maresca.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery supporter has their viewpoint,\u201d Rosenior said. \u201cEvery supporter wants their club to do well and to win games. Our job, my job, is to produce those results in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n The reverse fixture at Old Trafford earlier this season resulted in a 2-1 win for the Red Devils at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n Following the sending off of Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez in the fifth minute, Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro gave the home side a two-goal advantage at the break.<\/p>\n The latter, however, saw red in the last minute of the first half, but Trevor Chalobah\u2019s 80th-minute strike was in vain as United held on for the win.<\/p>\n This will be the 199th meeting between the clubs, with United winning 81 of the matches and Chelsea emerging victorious on 56 occasions.<\/p>\n United playmaker Bruno Fernandes is just three assists away from equalling the all-time record of 20 in a single Premier League season.<\/p>\n Chelsea manager Rosenior says midfielder Enzo \u200cFernandez has returned to full training and is available for \u2060selection for the visit of Manchester United after being dropped for disciplinary reasons.<\/p>\n The 25-year-old Argentina \u2060World Cup winner was omitted from the squad for the 7-0 win over League One Port Vale in the FA Cup quarterfinals and \u2060last week\u2019s 3-0 Premier League defeat by second-placed Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n Fernandez, who had been wearing the captain\u2019s armband in the absence of the injured Reece James, had previously said he would assess his future after the World Cup \u200cand expressed a desire to live in Madrid, comments for which he later apologised.<\/p>\n \u201cEnzo has been with the group and has been training very, very well,\u201d Rosenior told reporters on Thursday. \u201cSo, it\u2019s business as usual in terms of selection for the game.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of his training, his application to training, Enzo has been fantastic as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Rosenior also provided updates \u2060on defender Trevoh Chalobah, who has not played since \u2060the second leg of Chelsea\u2019s Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain, and on James, who has been sidelined since the loss to Newcastle United also in March.<\/p>\n \u201cTrevoh trained today but \u2060not quite fully; it was a modified training,\u201d Rosenior said. \u201cWe\u2019ll make a decision on him, but he\u2019s very, \u2060very close. Reece is a little bit further \u2060away.\u201d<\/p>\n Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Pedro<\/p>\n United\u2019s first-choice centre-backs Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire are both suspended for the match.<\/p>\n Maguire was set to return from a one-game ban, but has had his suspension extended by an additional game for improper conduct following his sending off against Bournemouth last month.<\/p>\n Fellow centre-back Matthijs de Ligt is still sidelines by a back injury, while Kobbie Mainoo missed the defeat by Leeds with a knock and remains a doubt.<\/p>\n Lammens; Dalot, Yoro, Heaven, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Diallo, Fernandes, Cunha; Mbeumo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Who: Chelsea vs Manchester UnitedWhat: English Premier League (EPL)Where: Stamford Bridge, London, United KingdomWhen: Saturday, April 18 at 8pm (19:00 GMT)How to follow: We\u2019ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream. Chelsea can tighten up the Premier League battle for UEFA Champions League […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
What:<\/strong> English Premier League (EPL)
Where:<\/strong> Stamford Bridge, London, United Kingdom
When:<\/strong> Saturday, April 18 at 8pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: <\/strong>We\u2019ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
How does the Premier League race to the Champions League stand?<\/h2>\n
Clock ticking on Champions League qualification, admits Chelsea manager<\/h2>\n
Chelsea braced for fan protest ahead of Man Utd visit<\/h2>\n
What happened the last time Chelsea played Man Utd?<\/h2>\n
Head-to-head<\/h2>\n
Stat attack \u2013 Manchester United<\/h2>\n
Chelsea team news<\/h2>\n
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Manchester United team news<\/h2>\n
Predicted Manchester United starting lineup<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"