Chelsea are getting ready for a huge game in their season on Friday night against Manchester United.
There are only two rounds of fixtures left in the 2024/25 Premier League season, and Chelsea still have so much on the line going into them.
The Blues host Man Utd under the lights at Stamford Bridge on Friday. Afterwards, they travel to Nottingham Forest on the final day of the league season.
Chelsea’s aim is to maintain their current position in the top five positions to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Nicolas Jackson’s red card against Newcastle United last Sunday means that Chelsea’s first-choice striker is suspended for the rest of the league campaign. Therefore, it’ll be interesting to see who Blues head coach Enzo Maresca picks to lead the line.
Enzo Maresca gives injury update on Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu
With Jackson unavailable, Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu are the main alternatives in the squad to cover the striker position. Unfortunately, both are currently coming back from respective injury problems.
Nkunku has been ruled out of Friday night’s league showdown, while it sounds like Guiu may only be fit enough for a spot on the bench.
When asked if Nkunku is available against Man Utd, Maresca said via Chelsea’s YouTube channel: “No, Christo is still out.”
The head coach later added: “Unfortunately, Marc Guiu is still injured. He started to train with us, but he’s not ready to play from the start.”
It’s a double blow for Chelsea that Nkunku and Guiu aren’t ready to start against Man Utd. It certainly makes Jackson’s red card look even worse.
Even though Chelsea are prepared to sell Christopher Nkunku in the summer transfer window, they really could’ve done with the versatile 27-year-old attacker for the final stretch of the season. He’s not played since mid-April because of injury, though.
As for 19-year-old striker Guiu, he’s been out of action since early February with a hamstring problem. It would surely be too risky to throw him straight back into such an important match.
The striker alternatives for Chelsea against Manchester United
Maresca will need to be creative with his line-up against Man Utd without all of his recognised senior centre-forwards. However, it’s not the first time this season that it’s happened.
We’re looking at three versatile attackers that could fill the role as the No 9 on Friday.
- Cole Palmer
- Tyrique George
- Pedro Neto
Neto and George have each shown their qualities when covering as a striker this campaign because they provide great pace and movement. As for Palmer, he can play as a false-nine and is the most natural finisher of the trio.
The Blues should dominate at home against a Man Utd side that will have one eye on next week’s Europa League final against Tottenham, so we’re quietly confident there’s enough attacking firepower to pick up the precious three league points.
