Bruno Fernandes is back in the Manchester United team.

Carrick confirmed on the eve of the Stamford Bridge trip that the Portugal midfielder would return to the starting XI and wear the armband at Chelsea, closing a dispute that began when he watched the Bournemouth defeat from the bench on Sunday.

“There is no decision to make about that. [Bruno] will continue to be [the captain],” Carrick told reporters, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

A fallout after the Como defeat

Fernandes was benched for the Bournemouth game after publicly criticising Carrick’s tactics in the wake of a Champions League defeat at Como the week before. Harry Maguire wore the armband at Old Trafford as United slumped to a 3-0 home loss that extended their winless run to eight matches across all competitions.

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Reinstating Fernandes and keeping him as captain amounts to Carrick drawing a line under the row in public.

“He’s a big player, Bruno, he offers us so much, you know, with his experience. He’s been through a lot here and achieved a lot and shown what he can bring to the team,” Carrick told Sports Illustrated.

Carrick keeps his job for Chelsea

The Bournemouth defeat left United 16th in the Premier League, a point clear of the relegation zone and in their worst start to a Premier League season. Senior club figures met Carrick at Carrington on Monday and decided to keep him in post for the Chelsea trip, with his future to be judged game by game. The former midfielder was appointed permanent head coach in May 2026, on a contract to 2028, after replacing the sacked Ruben Amorim as interim in January.

“I totally understand the situation. I’m not expecting anything in particular, to be honest. I’m carrying on as normal, and I love this place,” Carrick said earlier in the week.

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12:30pm at Stamford Bridge

Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is 12:30pm local time on Saturday. Chelsea have scored 26 goals in their opening 11 matches of the season and sit above United in the table.

Benjamin Sesko remains sidelined with a shin injury expected to keep the striker out until January, forcing Carrick to rebuild his attacking line around a reinstated Fernandes.

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