Torres benched for Chelsea v City as much-captained Ronaldo leads United attack

We have the unusual situation of two Premier League matches kicking off simultaneously in the Saturday lunchtime slot.

Chelsea v Manchester City is a mouth-watering prospect at Stamford Bridge, while there is plenty of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) interest at Old Trafford as Manchester United host Aston Villa.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the chief attraction from an FPL perspective, having been captained by almost two-thirds of the top 10,000 Fantasy managers in Gameweek 6.

Above: Ownership/effective ownership stats for Gameweek 6, via LiveFPL

Ronaldo is part of an unchanged Manchester United side from the win at West Ham United last Sunday.

Edinson Cavani makes the bench after recovering from injury.

Aston Villa’s one starting XI change is enforced, with Axel Tuanzebe, who is on loan from the Red Devils, ineligible to face his parent club. Kortney Hause makes his first Premier League start of the season as Dean Smith sticks with a 3-5-2.

In west London, Thomas Tuchel makes four changes to the Chelsea team that beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 in their last league outing.

Edouard Mendy returns in goal after recovering from a hip problem, while Reece James, N’Golo Kante and Timo Werner are all recalled.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz drop to the bench, while Mason Mount misses out through injury.

“Thiago [Silva] had some issues yesterday in training, otherwise he would have started.” – Thomas Tuchel

Tuchel has stuck with the same 3-5-2 system he used in the second half against Spurs, with Werner assuming Havertz’s role alongside Romelu Lukaku.

Pep Guardiola has also made four changes to the side that drew 0-0 with Southampton in Gameweek 5.

Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden both make their first league starts of the season, while Rodri and Aymeric Laporte have recovered from injury to also feature.

Nathan Ake, Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho are among the substitutes, with the injured Ilkay Gundogan missing out entirely.

GAMEWEEK 6 LINE-UPS

Chelsea XI: Mendy, James, Christensen, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Kante, Werner, Lukaku

Subs: Arrizabalaga, Silva, Loftus-Cheek, Chalobah, Saul, Hudson-Odoi, Chilwell, Ziyech, Havertz

Man City XI: Ederson, Walker, Ruben Dias, Laporte, Cancelo, De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Foden, Gabriel Jesus, Grealish

Subs: Steffen, Stones, Ake, Sterling, Torres, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Palmer, Lavia

Man Utd XI: De Gea, Wan Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Fred, Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes, Pogba, Ronaldo.

Subs: Lindelof, Martial, Lingard, Dalot, Cavani, Heaton, Sancho, Matic, Van de Beek.

Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Hause, Mings, Targett, Jacob Ramsey, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Ings, Watkins.

Subs: Buendia, Steer, Traore, Young, Nakamba, El Ghazi, Carney Chukwuemeka, Archer, Bogarde.

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