Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been far and away the club's best player in what has been a terrible season for the club
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes(Image: Getty Images)
Former Arsenal midfielder and Chelsea fan Paul Merson insists that Manchester United should not play Bruno Fernandes at Stamford Bridge on Friday night.
United travelled down to London on Thursday evening ahead of their penultimate Premier League clash with Chelsea tonight. While this fixture has normally been one to savour in recent years, it is seen as largely inconsequential for Ruben Amorim's men.
The Reds are destined to finish in the bottom half of the table after Amorim decided to prioritise the Europa League over the Premier League. That tactic has worked well in Europe with United travelling to Bilbao on Wednesday night to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the final.
However, their league position has struggled and they now sit wallowing in 16th. Despite choosing to heavily rotate his team, Amorim has continued to select Fernandes thanks to his 19 goals and 19 assists in all competitions.
He was an unused substitute at Brentford recently but he returned to play the full 90 minutes against West Ham last Sunday. Fernandes is part of the squad that went down to London yesterday but Merson has stressed that he should not feature with such an important fixture coming up next weekend.
"Ruben Amorim came out and said it will still be a terrible season if they win the Europa League and I don't blame him," Merson wrote for Sportskeeda. "But he must be fully aware of the fact that United need to win a trophy to attract better players to the club.
"The last thing Manchester United should do is start Bruno Fernandes against Chelsea. He's been their best player and you can't risk him being injured for the big final."
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson.
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson.(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Unsurprisingly, with Merson urging United to pick a weaker side against Chelsea in the Premier League he is confident that Enzo Maresca's side will be picking up the three points tonight. The Sky Sports pundit has predicted that Chelsea will win 3-0 this evening.
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