Manchester United head to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea with just one league victory to their name this season, in a fixture that could have major implications for Michael Carrick's future.

After suffering a 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como and a 3-0 Premier League loss to Bournemouth, Carrick looked increasingly likely to lose his job. However, United have decided against making an immediate change and will give the manager further time to improve results.

Chelsea have endured their own difficult spell, losing at home to Tottenham Hotspur last week before suffering elimination from the Carabao Cup at the hands of Liverpool on Wednesday evening.

Despite their recent struggles, the Blues remain a threat going forward, although João Pedro is expected to be unavailable due to injury.

Carrick will be hoping United can take confidence from their 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge earlier this year, secured by a Matheus Cunha goal.

For the Sunday afternoon tie, Carrick is expected to make four changes to the starting team after a torrid defeat to Bournemouth. However, goalkeeper Senne Lammens will remain on the field.

As for the back four, it feels like one change is needed. Leny Yoro slipped for Bournemouth's second goal but was great at right-back beyond that, so he could remain in the unorthodox position, although Ayden Heaven could find himself benched.

Lisandro Martínez returned to training earlier this week and, given his importance on the ball, could find himself back at left centre-back alongside Harry Maguire, with Diogo Dalot continuing at left-back amid Luke Shaw's continued absence.

In midfield, Carrick may finally be able to start Kobbie Mainoo and Carlos Baleba together. Since Baleba's debut, Mainoo has been out with injury but returned to the squad earlier this week. This is probably Carrick's most stable and complementary pivot.

While Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos both started in the Old Trafford tie last week, neither impressed well enough to warrant keeping their places, especially if Mainoo and Baleba are both fit to start.

Ahead of them, the United boss has already confirmed that club captain Bruno Fernandes will return to the starting XI after sitting out the Bournemouth fixture.

Although it was claimed he missed the game for footballing reasons, many saw Fernandes' relegation to the bench as a disciplinary measure after he spoke out against the head coach's tactics following last week's 4-1 loss to Como.

As for the front three, a fourth change could see Matheus Cunha return to the starting XI. Cunha and Carrick argued after the losses to Como, and the Brazilian sat on the bench against Bournemouth, though he came on at half-time.

Bryan Mbeumo was one of United's only players putting in real effort up front against Bournemouth, and looks set to keep his place at striker amid Benjamin Šeško's ongoing injury problems, while Amad will likely remain on the right wing.

However, it would be good to see Academy star Shea Lacey handed more minutes on the right flank, as his dynamic dribbling and incredible ball striking are assets Carrick must start utilising more often in the league.

United predicted XI vs Chelsea: Lammens, Yoro, Maguire, Martínez, Dalot, Baleba, Mainoo, Fernandes, Amad, Mbuemo, Cunha.