David Luiz dropped by Antonio Conte for Chelsea vs Manchester United after Roma nightmare

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David Luiz has been dropped by Chelsea manager Antonio Conte for the Premier League visit of Manchester United, with the Brazil defender left out of the squad completely following the midweek thrashing by Roma.

Luiz was heavily criticised for his performance in the 3-0 Champions League loss, and has paid the price with his place in the squad as Conte did not even name the Brazilian on the bench for the clash with Jose Mourinho’s side.

Instead, Conte starts Andreas Christensen in-between Cesar Azpilicueta and Gary Cahill, with Antonio Rudiger named among the substitutes.

Luiz was seen arriving separately to the rest of the team at Stamford Bridge, and did not have any kit with him.

Conte is able to recall N’Golo Kante to his midfield, with Eden Hazard playing an advanced role behind Alvaro Morata – who could easily have joined Manchester United instead of Chelsea in the summer.

United have no Juan Mata in the squad, and start like Chelsea with three defenders playing behind a four-man midfield. There is still no Paul Pogba for United, but Nemanja Matic starts against his former side while Marouane Fellaini returns from injury to be named on the bench.

Chelsea: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill; Zappacosta, Bakayoko, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso; Hazard, Morata.

Subs: Cabellero, Rudiger, Ampadu, Drinkwater, Willian, Pedro, Batshuayi.

Manchester United: De Gea; Bailly, Jones, Smalling; Valencia, Herrera, Matic, Young; Mkhitaryan, Lukaku, Rashford.

Subs: Romero, Blind, Darmian, Fellaini, McTominay, Lingard, Martial.