Manchester United and Chelsea Combined Eleven

Manchester United has had a turn of fortune since the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as caretaker boss in December. Their run of 10 wins, one draw and one loss in 12 games under the Norwegian has certainly lifted up the mood at Old Trafford.

Chelsea, on the other hand, are now struggling in the league and have even dropped down from fourth position to sixth after their humiliating 6-0 defeat against Manchester City.

Ahead of the FA Cup tie pitting Manchester United against Chelsea, let’s have a look at how both sides may line up in a combined eleven. The team will lineup in a 4-3-1-2 or a 4-3-3 formation.

Goalkeeper

The goalkeeper position is a no-brainer with De Gea getting the nod ahead of his Spanish teammate.

Not only has he proved it over and over again, but he’s also now considered as one of the best goalies in the world today. Both number ones play for the same team internationally and De Gea is by far the superior of the two.The goalkeeping department is probably the easiest of all the choices in this combined eleven.

He’s agile, has amazing reflexes and can use the ball well with his feet. He just has everything that you’d wish for in your goalkeeper.

Defence

Cesar Azpilicueta

Both defences have not covered themselves in glory this season. Chelsea’s defence shipped in six goals against City recently and United’s has been shipping in goals all season with countable clean sheets.

The right-back position is to be occupied by the dependable Cesar Azipilicueta. The Spaniard is strong defensively and is much more dependable than all the other options that are available in both teams. Even if Antonio Valencia was fit, it would have been hard for him to displace the Spanish international.

The left-back is a bit tricky between Luke Shaw and Marcos Alonso. Both offer a different dimension to their teams and it’s pretty hard deciding who is more important to his team. However, the position will go to Luke Shaw as he has been impressive in both defence and attack especially after the appointment of Ole Gunnar. Alonso on the other hand, while impressive going forward, he has been found wanting defensively at times.

The centre back positions are to be occupied by the reborn Victor Lindelof and David Luiz. Of all the central defenders in both teams, none has really stood out to be counted but those two are a mainstay in their respective teams.

Midfield

N'Golo Kante

One of the hardest positions to pick has got to be the midfield as both teams have a good number of talented players in this position. We can tell that by just having a look at names like Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic, Ross Barkley, Jorginho, Fred, Mateo Kovacic among others. There’s no shortage of players that can influence proceedings from the middle of the park.

Since the team will be lining up in a three-man midfield, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante are obvious starters. Both are quite impressive in their role, N’Golo is a powerhouse defensive midfielder and Pogba since the appointment of Ole Gunnar has been showing his potential.

The third man for this midfield is a straight battle between Ander Herrera who has also been impressive since Ole Gunnar’s appointment and Jorginho.

Herrera just edges Jorginho on this one because he offers more bite than Jorginho. He can release the forwards within a blink of an eye with his incisive passing.

Forward

Eden Hazard will star for this team.

If you thought the midfield was hard to pick, take a look at the forward line. This is the hardest of all positions to pick with both teams blessed with a good number of attacking options.

The first and obvious choice in the forward line is Eden Hazard who edges out the likes of Anthony Martial, Sanchez, and Pedro among others to start on the left of the three-man forward line. He will also be playing in a more false 10 position drifting infield at will.

The strikers’ positions will be occupied by Gonzalo Higuain and Marcus Rashford. The Argentine Higuain will bring in maturity, and experience to the forward line and he’s also clinical in front of goal.

The young Rashford has really been impressive this season and has been hitting the back of the net consistently for United under Ole Gunnar. There’s no way he was going to be left out of this lineup because of his sheer hard work and potential.

Both strikers can work the channels when the need arises and can surely be a menace for anyone they come across.

Here's how the team will look like:

David De Gea, Cezar Azippilicueta, David Luiz, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw; N'Golo Kante, Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba; Eden Hazard; Gonzalo Higuain, Marcus Rashford