Manchester United travel to Chelsea with the weight of the world on their shoulders. Michael Carrick survived a 3-0 home demolition by Bournemouth, with a loud Old Trafford crowd singing the name of their embattled manager before immediately switching to booing the players after Carrick walked off.

There may be many a reason behind the hierarchy's decision to stick with Carrick, but he knows that the only thing that will keep him in the hot seat is a run of good results.

Stamford Bridge, where Carrick led United to a first win in six years last season (on the back of home defeat, too -- vs Leeds United) and he'd like nothing more than a repeat of that.

With that in mind, it'll be interesting to see if Bruno Fernandes gets back into the starting XI after being an unused sub last weekend. Carrick said on Thursday that Fernandes will remain captain and that he "has been and will be" an important player for the group.

While United are in deep crisis, Chelsea have been one of the most inconsistent teams in the league.

After beating Bournemouth 5-1 and Everton 2-0 with convincing performances, they lost to Tottenham Hotspur at home and then lost to Liverpool at Anfield in the Carabao Cup (on penalties) and Xabi Alonso will know that any dropping of points against a down-and-out United side will not go down too well with the Stamford Bridge faithful.

They, of course, start as strong favourites in what could be a defining fixture for the season ahead. Cole Palmer's return from his one-game suspension will be a huge boost for Alonso.

Here's everything you need to know about the match.

How to watch:

The match will be available to watch on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and HBO Max in the UK, USA network in the U.S., JioHotstar in India, and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates here.

Key Details:

Date, kick-off time:
UK BST: Saturday, Oct. 31, 12.30 p.m.
U.S ET: Saturday, Oct. 31, 8.30 a.m
India IST: Saturday, Oct. 31, 6:00 p.m.
Australia AEDT: Saturday, Oct. 31, 11.30 p.m.

Venue: Stamford Bridge, London

Referee: Peter Bankes
VAR: James Bell

Injury and Team News

Chelsea

Emiliano Martínez, GK: broken jaw, OUT
Pep Chavarría, D: knock, DOUBT
Reece James, D: knee, OUT
Emanuel Emegha, F, hamstring, DOUBT
Jamie Gittens, F, ankle, OUT
João Pedro, F: muscle, OUT
Maxence Lacroix, D: hamstring, DOUBT

Manchester United

Luke Shaw, D: knock, OUT
Manuel Ugarte, M: ACL, OUT
Benjamin Sesko, F: shin, OUT
Marcus Rashford, F: hip, DOUBT
Patrick Dorgu, D: hamstring, OUT

Expected Lineups

Chelsea Predicted XI

Manchester United Predicted XI

Talking Points

Can Carrick start an unlikely run?

What Michael Carrick did last season as an interim manager was deemed such an implausibly good job that he was given the gig on a two-year contract.

One win in eight league games, seven points, and a worst start in 40 years later, he needs an impossibly good job to keep the gig now. United may not like visiting Stamford Bridge, but a good performance and result here could be the spark that turns his career, and his club's season around.

It won't be easy, of course, and with United's defenders and midfield struggling to deal with runners -- Chelsea's Cole Palmer (returning from suspension this weekend) and Morgan Rogers will be licking their lips at the prospect of a free hand against them.

Carrick's first priority will be stopping them, but considering United's struggles moving forward, testing Chelsea's fragile defence will be a very close second priority.

Kobbie Mainoo's return to training this week suggests he might get some time off the bench, while a lot will hinge on Carrick's willingness to truly patch things up with Bruno Fernandes and put him back on the pitch in the #10 position.

How do Chelsea deal with João Pedro's absence?

The Rogers-Palmer partnership we spoke about previously has flourished early this season thanks to the work of João Pedro up ahead of them. As dual 10s in the system Xabi Alonso so favours, they've pulled the strings, but in João Pedro's absence, they've found it tougher going.

Starting former United man Danny Welbeck up front could be the way forward for Alonso while his main centre-forward is sidelined by injury

Even with João Pedro, though, Alonso has had a big consistency issue to deal with. They may be fifth in the league, but they're already eight points behind leaders Manchester City and Arsenal, and have crumbled when the pressure's been turned onto them (see their performances against Arsenal and Spurs.)

Alonso can, therefore, ill afford dropped points here in a game that form (and everything else) suggestss they ought to win with ease.

What do the numbers say?