Those are the thoughts of Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith.
Drinkwater, who joined Chelsea in a £35million deal in the summer from Leicester, has yet to start a Premier League game this term.
A calf injury has limited his involvement and he hasn’t been able to play alongside N’Golo Kante, who was a cornerstone of the Foxes’ title success in the 2015/16 season.
Chelsea were overrun in midweek as they crashed to a 3-0 defeat in Roma in the Champions League.
With the visit of United on Sunday (4.30pm), the Blues will need to stem the tide of attacks.
Smith is convinced Conte needs to freshen things up in the centre of the park, and thinks starting Drinkwater will give the west London outfit a different dynamic.
“I think Danny [Drinkwater] has a great chance of starting,” Smith told Sky Sports’ The Debate Show.
“He’s started the last couple as a substitute getting around 15/20 mins each time.
“They need more legs in midfield – Fabregas has played most games and we saw in Italy he’s struggling a little bit.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Conte had three in there and shore things up against a United side who you bet will be trying to win that midfield battle.”
“It’s time for Drinkwater to come into middle ground and be a physical force.”
Chelsea go into the game nine points adrift of table-toppers Manchester City and sit in fourth spot.