Chelsea's chances of reaching the Champions League have been damaged by back-to-back losses against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. The team dropped to fifth place in the league following a defeat at home to Tottenham and then lost on penalties to Liverpool in the League Cup.
Head coach Xabi Alonso has completed the team's final preparations at their training ground for the upcoming match against Manchester United. He expressed uncertainty about the condition of midfielder Moises Caicedo and defender Malo Gusto, with Caicedo picking up a small injury in the match against Liverpool. Defender Maxence Lacroix is recovering from a hamstring problem and is likely to be unavailable until after the upcoming international pause, while Wesley Fofana's performances have been disappointing.
Squad fitness and training
The group of 27 players is missing several individuals. Emiliano Martinez, Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Reece James and Pep Chavarria are all still unavailable. Cole Palmer, who was suspended for the Liverpool game, returned to training on Thursday. Alonso mentioned that players who started against Liverpool were given a lighter recovery period.
Younger players are aiming for a chance to play. A teenage defender trained with the main squad on Thursday and may be close to his first appearance for the senior team. A highly-rated Brazilian teenage attacker was seen putting in effort during the session. He has featured for a limited amount of time for Chelsea this season. Another young player has only been included in the squad for a match on one occasion so far.
A last practice was planned for Thursday, with the hope that some key players would participate. Alonso is scheduled to hold a press conference on Friday afternoon. The team is under increasing pressure, with an observer commenting that losing games inevitably brings more criticism. Chelsea's next important challenge is against Manchester United at their home stadium this weekend.
