Photo: Chelsea FC

Antonio Conte was badly hurt by Chelsea’s 3-0 loss to Roma and is considering a new midfield pairing for the game against Manchester United on Sunday.

Reports suggest the Chelsea manager wants to pair Danny Drinkwater and N’Golo Kante in a new-look Chelsea midfield for the visit of Manchester United on Sunday.

Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas haven’t combined well in midfield in the absence of Kante and were both badly overrun in the middle of the park against Roma.

With Kante likely to be fit for the game against United, sources say Kante and Drinkwater have reportedly been working in tandem this week in training and Conte could be tempted to thrust them into action as he tries to bounce back from the loss to Roma.

Kante and Drinkwater worked to good effect to give Leicester City the Premier League title just two seasons ago, and we might be seeing another similar partnership on Sunday.