Only including available players and those with meaningful minutes this season, here is a Chelsea and Manchester United combined XI based on WhoScored match ratings in the 2024/25 Premier League.
GK: Robert Sanchez (Chelsea) – 6.58
Debates like Sanchez vs Andre Onana are exactly why we copped out with the WhoScored rating process. Both are error-prone but capable of world-class acrobatics. Unfortunately, the errors feel more frequent these days.
What Onana does have over Sanchez is continuity: he’s United’s undisputed No.1, thanks in no small part to Altay Bayindir being extremely dodgy. Sanchez has rotated with Filip Jorgensen but has been Chelsea’s first choice for most of the league season. He should start on Friday, but a Europa Conference League final starting berth is up for grabs.
RB: Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United) – 6.79
A rare bit of solid recruitment from United, Mazraoui has been quietly reliable since arriving from Bayern Munich for a measly £15m. He’s featured at right-back, left-back and as a wide centre-back in Ruben Amorim’s three-man defence, as well as in attacking midfielder under Erik ten Hag.
He looked more comfortable in a back four for Ten Hag but has still been one of Amorim’s most consistent players. He gets in ahead of Reece James, who’s mostly been used off the bench as Enzo Maresca carefully manages his fitness.
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo (Chelsea) – 6.67
Annoyingly, Tosin’s rating is 0.02 better than Trevoh Chalobah’s, who has formed a solid and settled partnership with Levi Colwill in the latter half of the season. If this was opinion-based, Chalobah would be in.
Still, Tosin – signed on a free from Fulham – has started 13 league games and been a regular in the cups, including 10 of Chelsea’s 12 Conference League fixtures. A shrewd bit of business.
CB: Levi Colwill (Chelsea) – 6.70
The highest-rated options were actually Ayden Heaven and Lisandro Martinez, but the former has only played two league games and the latter’s been out since February with an ACL injury.
Colwill, meanwhile, has been a mainstay for Chelsea, starting 33 of their 36 league matches.
LB: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United) – 6.84
Dalot has been hit-and-miss under Amorim but the algorithm hasn’t minded too much. He just edges out Marc Cucurella (6.63). Often shuffled around, he’s spent some time at left-back and just about gets the nod here.
CM: Moises Caicedo (Chelsea) – 7.02
Caicedo has recently been filling in at right-back while Romeo Lavia partners Enzo Fernandez in midfield, but we’re picking players in their natural positions for this XI.
The Ecuadorian has quietly been Chelsea’s most consistent performer this season, and the £105m price tag has stopped being a stick to beat him with — which is always a good sign. He also scored a belter at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture.
CM: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) – 7.20
United’s best player by an absurd distance. Fernandes has been excellent despite the circus around him. Without him, United might have exited Europe months earlier and ended up scrapping with the bottom three.
RW: Amad Diallo (Manchester United) – 7.17
Fully fit and finding form at the right time. A shame Ten Hag didn’t trust him — might still have a job if he had.
Amorim has recognised Amad’s talent immediately, and the former Sunderland and Rangers loanee has flourished in the 3-4-3 as one of the two wide No.10s.
AM: Cole Palmer (Chelsea) – 7.35
The chippy chips connoisseur ended a ludicrous 18-game goal drought recently, but still has 15 goals and eight assists in 35 league appearances, which tells you how ridiculous his first half of the season was.
He bagged a hat-trick against United at Stamford Bridge last season and will hope to torment them again as Chelsea chase a top-five finish.
LW: Pedro Neto (Chelsea) – 6.78
Plenty of wide options, all underwhelming.
Jadon Sancho’s ineligible and wouldn’t start anyway, Mykhaylo Mudryk is still suspended after that failed drugs test, and Alejandro Garnacho is wildly inconsistent. Neto might not be setting the world alight, but he’s probably the best of an unconvincing bunch.
ST: Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea) – 6.41
Nicolas Jackson would’ve made this XI, but he decided to smash Sven Botman’s jaw and is suspended. So it’s Nkunku by default.
He only has three Premier League goals but remains Chelsea’s second-top scorer across all competitions with 14. A summer move is likely — Liverpool are reportedly sniffing.
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