Carrick stays for Chelsea trip with Man Utd one point above the drop zone

Head coach Michael Carrick will be in the Manchester United dugout at Stamford Bridge on Saturday lunchtime after the club's hierarchy decided to give him more time, the Evening Standard and the Mirror report. United arrive 16th on seven points, one above the relegation zone, and without a win in eight matches in all competitions.

A reprieve, not a vote of confidence

Carrick had been widely expected to lose his job after Sunday's 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth, which followed a 4-1 loss at Como. Instead, Monday's talks at Carrington with Omar Berrada, the club's chief executive, and Jason Wilcox, its football director, ended with him staying on. According to the Standard, United are said to be lining up managers Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann as candidates to replace Carrick, and the Mirror reports that Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected in the stands on Saturday.

United's numbers

One win from eight league games has brought United seven points, with 10 goals scored and 13 conceded. Only Crystal Palace, also on seven, Nottingham Forest, Coventry and Sunderland sit below them. United's top league scorer is Bryan Mbeumo, with four goals. United are also out of the Carabao Cup after a 3-2 third-round defeat by Brighton.

Team news

United captain Bruno Fernandes, left out of the side against Bournemouth after questioning Carrick's tactics following the Como defeat, could return: the Mirror, citing The Athletic, reports that the club seem ready to move on from the row. After keeping his captain on the bench on Sunday, Carrick said: "He's fit and available but we decided to pick the team that we did today." Kobbie Mainoo, who has missed the last four games with a muscle problem, could also be back, according to the Standard, while the Standard's Monday injury update lists Marcus Rashford (hip), Luke Shaw and Benjamin Sesko as absent with no return date, Patrick Dorgu out until November and Manuel Ugarte until 2027.

Chelsea without João Pedro

Chelsea are fifth on 13 points, six more than United, but come off a 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham, decided by an own goal from goalkeeper Mike Penders and a strike from Tottenham's Mathys Tel three minutes from time. Chelsea's Cole Palmer was sent off in that game, but he serves his one-match ban in Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie at Liverpool and is available on Saturday. João Pedro, Chelsea's top league scorer with five goals, is out for "a few weeks" with a thigh injury, head coach Xabi Alonso said on Tuesday. "We have to be looking for solutions not for excuses," Alonso added. Captain Reece James is out until mid-January after knee surgery.