Surprise duo edge Kante and Mount in Man Utd and Chelsea combined XI

By this point Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Frank Lampard will know each other inside out. Manchester United and Chelsea faced off four times across all competitions last season and are set to do battle for the first time in 2020/21 on Saturday.

It's not been the start to the season either manager would have hoped for. United languish down in the bottom half of the table, while Chelsea aren't doing much better. Neither team look like the sides that finished in the top four last season.

After spending more than £200m in the summer Chelsea will expect to be right up there challenging for the title, while Solskjaer needs to get things chugging along in the right direction sooner rather than later.

With the potential of so many star players on display at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, a combined XI between the two sides should produce an all-star team, right? Well, sort of. As both teams have made rather middling starts to the season, there are a few surprises.

For this combined XI we have taken into account WhoScored.com ratings from all competitions and even those for new signings who played for previous clubs before finalising their switch. Injured or suspended players are excluded, as are those that have made fewer than three appearances in 2020/21.

Edouard Mendy just edges out David De Gea for a spot in goal. Mendy has kept two clean sheets in four appearances for Chelsea, while De Gea is waiting for his first clean sheet and has conceded 13 goals across his five outings. The Spaniard did at least roll back the years with a huge display in United's win at PSG in midweek but still misses out on the XI.

Moving into defence and Chelsea actually take up all four slots. With two direct goal contributions and as many WhoScored Man of the Match awards, Reece James beats Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back. Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma edge out the likes of Harry Maguire and Thiago Silva, while Axel Tuanzebe has not made enough appearances to qualify. Ben Chilwell's fine start to life at Chelsea sees him inclued above the likes of Alex Telles and Luke Shaw.

There are more surprises in midfield. Paul Pogba, Jorginho, Mason Mount and N'Golo Kante all miss out. Instead, Scott McTominay anchors a midfield of Bruno Fernandes and Kai Havertz. McTominay was picked ahead of Pogba for their win over PSG, while Fernandes has played a direct hand in five goals in United's first four league appearances. Havertz is still adjusting to life in England but has impressively already scored a hat-trick in Chelsea colours.

Man of the moment on and off the field, Marcus Rashford, takes up one spot in the front three. After a difficult start, Rashford has four goal involvements in his last two matches, producing match winning performances against both Newcastle and PSG. He flanks Chelsea new boy Timo Werner, with Juan Mata completing the XI with a surprise inclusion. Mata has arguably been United's most consistent performer this season. The veteran has scored or assisted in all three of his appearances this season and played a direct hand in four goals in that time.