Are you ready to go brutal?

Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement from football in May 2013, and Chelsea have not won at Old Trafford since then. United also has an unblemished record versus Chelsea in the Premier League over the last eight games.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka struggled mightily on Tuesday, so Alex Telles stepped in for the rest of the game and was the only one to play. Due to the poor performance of Manchester United's players, the full-back position is not the only one where rotation is a given.

It's widely expected that Harry Maguire will be called back into the Arsenal squad tonight, in spite of the staged attempt to portray it as a "rest." When Bruno Fernandes was pulled from the starting lineup in January, he was owed another chance. Anthony Elanga is lucky to still be employed.

As indicated by his news conference on Friday, Ralf Rangnick believes he has nothing to lose at this point. Rangnick is not only letting players go, but he is also throwing them under the bus.

Alvaro Fernandez and Hannibal Mejbri have appeared in the last four matchday squads, but Alejandro Garnacho has not. It would be a breath of fresh air if all three players were included to the team this evening.

With Erik ten Hag's appointment, it is likely that a forgotten Man United player will reap major benefits.

Is Ronaldo being used to make a point?
Only a small minority would say that Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 22 Premier League and Champions League goals in a season in which he aged 37, is still a problem for Manchester Unite

In the one game in which Michael Carrick did not start in place of Cristiano Ronaldo at Chelsea, he did not score a goal. He did same in the other two games under Carrick. Ronaldo's solitary goal against the holders of the Champions League remains his majestic header in the 2008 final against Real Madrid.

Ronaldo may be seeking to make a statement following his rebuff at Stamford Bridge in November. Erik ten Hag should be interested in his potency and fluidity throughout his time at Arsenal.

The Fred factor is an important consideration.

No wonder that Fred was the only outfield player United put up to speak about Ten Hag last week, considering he is one of only a few of players who have virtually no prospect of being moved in the current market.

It was clear two years ago that United is a better team when Fred is on the field, and this has been reaffirmed in recent weeks while he has been sidelined by injury. His return could be crucial in the face of an intimidating Chelsea midfield.

Protests?

A group of Manchester United supporters intends to demonstrate once more around the time of tonight's game. As moving as the events in the Munich tunnel before the Norwich game were, they were mostly useless due to the sheer number of people in the stadium at the time, and the most effective kind of protest is a disruptive one, as anyone who was at The Lowry about a year ago can attest to.