Chelsea vs. Man U: Five things to watch for, from Fernandes to Arrizabalaga

4. Who starts between the sticks?

Chelsea is in a goalkeeper situation right now. The Chelsea board would not have expected to hear that statement a season ago when they went to great trouble to secure the signature of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Arrizabalaga has not impressed this season. Many people remember his iconic penalty save in the Europa League and then say he is getting too much heat as he is a good goalkeeper and Chelsea fans are being unfair. But every metric shows that Arrizabalaga is grossly underperforming.

Frank Lampard prides himself on a merit-based system, and while that has its flaws (which Lampard is suffering now), he has shown that he indeed will drop his No. 1 if it came to it.

Willy Caballero’s performance against Leicester City was… meh. Some say he shouldn’t have come out for the second goal, some say he did better than Arrizabalaga, some say he did worse.

It now remains to be seen where Lampard goes from here. Did he drop Arrizabalaga as a way just to say “See, I can drop our record signing?” If that is so, will he immediately reinstate him to the starting XI against Manchester United?

Did he drop Arrizabalaga as a way of saying “I’ll take my chances with Caballero. After all, can’t be any worse?”

Caballero cannot be judged on one Premier League game, but it would be illogical to give him a starting goalkeeper’s amount of playing time just to see if he might be a better option. Or would it?

It is generally accepted that, overall, Arrizabalaga is better than Caballero. However, Lampard would be within his rights to drop Arrizabalaga according to his own merit-based system. But then where does he go from there?

5. The reaction of the youth

Frank Lampard was not the only one scarred by the first Premier League game of the season. The Chelsea academy graduates would have felt a bit inadequate, too.

That first match against United would have raised some doubt in each of their minds, questioning their readiness, mentality, passion and footballing ability. A 4-0 hiding tends to have that effect, especially if it’s your first foray into Premier League football for a club of this size.

Watch out for a reaction from the kids. The Cobham graduates will not only be playing for points, they’ll be playing for their pride.

Solskjaer has already gotten the better of them twice this season. They will do everything they can to make sure United don’t go 3/3 on the season.