Our Chelsea reporters discuss and debate their team selection for when the Blues welcome the struggling Manchester United to Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening

Back-to-back defeats - albeit one of them was via a penalty shootout - has left a sour taste in Chelsea mouths. It has been a torrid week for Xabi Alonso up until now but at least Manchester United are here to offer a reminder that it's not all that bad at Stamford Bridge.

And it is United who take on Chelsea next. The Blues will be hoping they face the United we have seen in recent weeks rather than a wounded animal on Saturday afternoon.

All Alonso can do, though, is focus on Chelsea and their performance. He hasn't got much time to do that, mind, given the quick turnaround between the Carabao Cup fourth round defeat at Anfield on Wednesday night and Saturday's lunchtime kick-off against Man United.

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With that being said, football.london's Chelsea reporters Bobby Vincent and Jake Stokes have given their takes below on what Alonso should do in relation to his team selection on Saturday - and are in agreement over what to do with Estevao Willian.

Bobby Vincent

Mike Penders was a lot better for Chelsea in their defeat to Liverpool, with the 21-year-old goalkeeper showcasing his mentality to bounce back from a nightmare full Premier League debut against Tottenham a few days prior. Emi Martinez remains out, so Penders is set to be in between the posts again on Saturday afternoon.

Trying to guess the formation that Alonso chooses is a loser's game. Personally, I would go with a 4-2-3-1 continue with Josh Acheampong at right-back, with Wesley Fofana - Maxence Lacroix (hamstring) is a doubt - alongside Levi Colwill in the centre and go with Marco Palestra as the left-back.

Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson in the midfield, with Cole Palmer returning from suspension to play in the No.10 role. I don't think Alonso will do this but Estevao deserves the opportunity to impress on the right-hand side of attack, with Morgan Rogers on the other flank.

Danny Welbeck vs Emmanuel Emegha for the No.9 role. While Emegha was bright off the bench against Liverpool, it might be a wise decision to go with the more experienced Welbeck for this one. Welbeck also enjoys playing against his former club Man United.

Bobby's XI (4-2-3-1): Penders; Palestra, Acheampong, Colwill, Hato; Caicedo, Henderson; Estevao, Palmer, Rogers; Welbeck

Jake Stokes

Suddenly, Chelsea can not afford to leave Stamford Bridge with anything less than three points on Saturday afternoon. The Blues need to dust themselves down and pile the misery on Manchester United, reigniting spirits on and off the pitch. With Martinez still recovering from surgery on a fractured jaw, it should go without saying that Penders remains between the sticks. The goalkeeper was superb for Chelsea at Anfield on Wednesday night; he was just an Emegha penalty away from being the hero.

At the back, Alonso should make Colwill the new central centre-back in the back three, on paper anyway, with Jorrel Hato on the left and Acheampong on the right. Rather than shift right, whereby the right centre-back becomes the right-back in an out-of-possession back-four, I'd like to see the Blues shift left. In doing so, Hato and Colwill remain left-back and left centre-back out of possession, respectively, while Acheampong essentially takes up Lacroix's aggressive front-foot right centre-back role. Instead of getting Pedro Neto to drop even deeper, he should move over to the left (left wing out of possession), and Palestra should get the nod on the right, dropping into right-back out of possession. Fofana has no business starting for Chelsea ever again, so it'll be well worth Alonso's time! Otherwise, hopefully, Caicedo recovers from his little knock, Romeo Lavia replaces Henderson, Palmer re-joins the frontline, and Estevao gets his first Premier League start of the season to create a free-flowing attack. It would be nice to see more of Emegha, but, of course, he's only just returned to action!

Jake's XI (3-4-3): Penders; Acheampong, Colwill, Hato; Neto, Lavia, Caicedo, Palestra; Palmer, Estevao, Rogers