of the season as reigning champions Manchester
United face off against contenders to the throne
Chelsea, at Old Trafford. While neither club may
have had the happiest of pre-seasons, Chelsea
have been more resourceful in the transfer
market. While United momentarily climbed atop
that favourite perch of theirs: the top of the
Premier League table after thrashing Swansea City
4-1 at the Liberty Stadium last weekend, Chelsea
overcame Aston Villa 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in
midweek to go top.
The last time Man United and Chelsea faced off in
the Premier League, Chelsea edged out 1-0
winners. However, United did manage to win at
Stamford Bridge prior to that. United were
excellent at home last season, racking up 16 wins
from 19 matches, losing a paltry three. Chelsea
were decent on the road with ten wins and five
losses. The previous five clashes between these
two teams has seen both teams rack up two wins
each with one match drawn, making Monday's
game virtually impossible to call. Chelsea's visit
begins a 4-game testing period for the champions
with games against Liverpool and Man City in the
immediate offing.
Manchester United
Man United, facing one of their most taxing starts
in years, have reportedly submitted an improved
£35 million double bid for Everton pair Marouane
Fellaini and Leighton Baines on Thursday, after the
Toffees rejected United's initial bid of £28 million
as "derisory and insulting". Both Fellaini and
Baines have jumped to the top of Moyes' wishlist
after United failed in their pursuit of Barcelona's
Cesc Fabregas and Thiago Alcantara in the
summer.
United though, still have the Premier League's
most lethal finisher as Robin van Persie’s twin
strikes against Swansea served yet another
reminder of why the Dutch striker has now
replaced Wayne Rooney as the go-to hitman in
the United camp, regardless of who regularly hogs
the newspaper headlines. Van Persie was also
instrumental in United grabbing their first piece of
silverware this season as they won the
Community Shield at Wembley.
Chelsea
Chelsea has been re-invigorated by the return of
‘The Special One' to London and are now
desperate to relive Jose Mourinho's first coming by
winning the League. Chelsea is now a smaller,
more fluid machine than the teams of 2004-06, so
stitching up the creative prowess of Juan Mata,
Eden Hazard and Oscar to a prolific poacher
upfront is top priority wherein Mourinho faces a
problem of plenty having played Fernando Torres
in his opening game, Demba Ba against Aston
Villa and with Romelu Lukaku, back from his
excellent loan spell at West Brom last season,
waiting in the wings.
Then there is also the small matter of Wayne
Rooney. The new Chelsea gaffer is still locked in a
prolonged transfer-battle with the Red Devils for
Rooney, but has insisted he will wait until after
Monday’s match before making a third bid for the
England striker, while United maintain that
Rooney is not for sale. Last heard, there was also
talk of swapping Mata for Rooney, a claim that
Mourinho refuted in his pre-match press
conference. Also, Chelsea have completed the £32
million signing of Anzhi Makhachkala star Willian
from under Tottenham's noses, strengthening their
attacking third even further.
Head to Head:
May 5, 2013 Man Utd 0 - 1 Chelsea, Premier
League
Apr 1, 2013 Chelsea 1 - 0 Man Utd, FA Cup
Mar 10, 2013 Man Utd 2 - 2 Chelsea, FA Cup
Oct 31, 2012 Chelsea 5 - 4 Man Utd, Capital One
Cup
Oct 28, 2012 Chelsea 2 - 3 Man Utd, Premier
League
Form Guide:
Man Utd.: W W L D W
Aug 17, 2013 Swansea 1 - 4 Man Utd, EPL
Aug 11, 2013 Wigan Athletic 2 - 0 Man Utd,
Community Shield
Aug 9, 2013 Man Utd 1 - 3 Sevilla, Friendly
Aug 6, 2013 AIK Solna 1 - 1 Man Utd, Friendly
Jul 29, 2013 Kitchee SC 2 - 5 Man Utd, Friendly
Chelsea: W W W L W
Aug 21, 2013 Chelsea 2 - 1 Aston Villa, EPL
Aug 18, 2013 Chelsea 2 - 0 Hull, EPL
Aug 11, 2013 Chelsea 2 - 1 Roma, Friendly
Aug 8, 2013 Real Madrid 3 - 1 Chelsea, Friendly
Aug 4, 2013 AC Milan 0 - 2 Chelsea, Friendly
Likely XIs:
Manchester United: De Gea; Jones, Ferdinand,
Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Rooney;
Welbeck; Van Persie.
After a convincing performance against the Swans
on opening day where he laid on two goals after
starting from the bench, Rooney could force his
way back into the line-up even though Moyes
would be hard-pressed to tinker with the combo of
Welbeck and Van Persie upfront after they scored
a brace apiece last weekend. Ryan Giggs though
could however make way for Rooney on the wing.
Ferdinand and Vidic select themselves.
Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole;
Ramires, Lampard; Oscar, Mata, Hazard; Lukaku
For Chelsea, David Luiz is still a doubt with a
hamstring problem, whereas up front, Mourinho
has started with Fernando Torres and Demba Ba
as the lone striker against Hull and Villa
respectively - Romelu Lukaku is expected to lead
the line at Old Trafford after coming on from the
subs bench in each of the last two. While it was
De Bruyne who warmed the bench against Aston
Villa on Wednesday, it was he who shone brightest
against Hull City three days previously, and may
be selected to start alongside Mata and Hazard,
however, it would be hard to leave Oscar out of
the starting lineup for such a big game. The Blues
are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, as
Mata, Hazard and Oscar are likely to play behind a
lone striker.
Prediction: This is a game too tight to call this
early in the season. It would be infinitely tough for
United's midfield to stifle the creative dynamism
of the Chelsea triumvirate out of Mata, Hazard
and Oscar, but with Welbeck in good shape, and
one of the world's most lethal strikers in Van
Persie, United are well and truly capable of
holding their own on home turf. This much is for
sure, whoever wins this will be sending out a
strong warning to the rest of the Premier League.
Predicted Scoreline: Manchester United 2-2
Chelsea
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