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It’s been just ten days since the start of the new Premier League campaign and we already have our first ‘blockbuster clash’ of the season as two heavyweights of English football face each another at Old Trafford.
Manchester United – the reigning Premier League champions – began their title defence with an impressive 4-1 win over Swansea City last weekend in Wales. Facing Chelsea will certainly be a different match altogether and a big test for new manager David Moyes, who hosts the Blues for the first home game as United manager. With Jose Mourinho back at Chelsea, the game will provide a more accurate measure of just what Moyes’ men can do.
After a successful spell with Inter Milan and not so successful spell with Real Madrid, the ‘Special One’ has returned to Stamford Bridge as the ‘Happy One’ after a six year absence. Mourinho’s side have got off to a perfect start in the Premier League with home wins over Hull City and Aston Villa, and will be hoping to continue their winning streak by making it three wins out of three on Monday night and put an early dent on United’s title defence.
The subplot of this one will of course revolve around Wayne Rooney. After an entire summer of speculation over a Chelsea move, whether the striker starts, is a substitute or is nowhere on the team sheet, all eyes will certainly be on him, adding to the already incredible atmosphere that is expected to welcome the new manager to his new home.
Team News
Manchester United
David Moyes has no new injuries following their win over Swansea on Sunday. Rafael, who was suspended for the first league game of the season after being sent off against Chelsea last term, is free to play but the Brazilian remains unavailable through a hamstring injury. Wayne Rooney, who has had a pre-season full of speculation over his future, could start following his cameo in Wales last time out, although Ashley Young (ankle), Nani (groin), Darren Fletcher (illness) and Javier Hernandez (hamstring) are unlikely to feature.
Squad: David De Gea, Anders Lindegaard, Ben Amos | Patrice Evra, Phil Jones, Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic (C), Fabio, Alexander Buttner, Guillermo Varela, Michael Keane | Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Antonio Valencia, Shinji Kawaga, Wilfried Zaha, Bebe, Adnan Januzaj | Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Robin van Persie, Angelo Henriquez, Federico Macheda.
Chelsea
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho’s only concern ahead of the game at Old Trafford is the fitness of David Luiz. The Brazilian defender has been struggling with a hamstring injury that’s kept him out of action for much of pre-season and is a major doubt for the game on Monday. The former Benfica man will join the young Tomas Kalas (broken leg) on the sidelines, other than that the Blues have a fully fit squad to choose from despite playing Aston Villa in the midweek.
Squad: Petr Cech, Mark Schwarzer, Hilario | Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Gary Cahill, John Terry (C), Cesar Azpilicueta, Ryan Bertrand | Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Juan Mata, Oscar, John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses, Andre Schurrle, Kevin De Bruyne, Marco van Ginkel, Eden Hazard | Fernando Torres, Romelu Lukaku, Demba Ba.
Head to head
Played – 169Manchester United Wins – 75Draw – 46Chelsea Wins – 48
Head to head fixtures
05-May-13 – Premier League – Manchester United 0-1 Chelsea01-Apr-13 – FA Cup – Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United10-Mar-13 – FA Cup – Manchester United 2-2 Chelsea31-Oct-13 – Capital One Cup – Chelsea 5-4 Manchester United28-Oct-13 – Premier League – Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United
Form Guide
Manchester United – WW
United come into this match on the back of a hugely impressive 4-1 win over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium last weekend, a match that was embarked as a potential tough opener for the defending champions. The triumph was preceded by a 2-0 victory over FA Cup holders, Wigan Athletic in the Community Shield at Wembley.
17-Aug-13 – Premier League – Swansea City 1-4 Manchester United11-Aug-13 – Community Shield – Manchester United 2-0 Wigan Athletic
Chelsea – WW
Chelsea, like United, have also got off to an encouraging start to the new season, beating Hull City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge before sealing another home win over Aston Villa on Wednesday. The latter fixture was rearranged for midweek because of the Blues’ involvement in the UEFA Super Cup against Bayern Munich on Friday.
21-Aug-13 – Premier League – Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa18-Aug-13 – Premier League – Chelsea 2-0 Hull City
Players to watch
Robin van Persie (Manchester United)
The Dutchman was the difference last season as Manchester United won their 20th league title and it looks like it’s going to be the same this season. Van Persie is in the form of his life and has been scoring goals for fun for the last couple of seasons that has seen him win consecutive Golden Boot awards. The former Arsenal star opened his tally for the season with a well taken brace against Swansea in the opening game last weekend, and will be hoping to continue his form and cause the Chelsea backline some problems.
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
In truth, any one from the midfield triumvirate of Mata, Oscar and Hazard could be the key player to watch out for on Monday night, though the latter one is an extra-special talent. Signed from French side LOSC Lille last summer and touted as the next Cristiano Ronaldo, the Belgian has become one of the Premier League’s finest forwards by combining pace, flair, skill and intelligence. And at the age of just 22 years, he looks set to dominate the game for many seasons to come.
Manager Quotes
David Moyes, Manchester United
“He (Mourinho) was enjoyed by the media. Chelsea supporters obviously enjoyed him and from that point of view I would say yes (the Premier League has missed him). I have not seen him for a long time. Our paths have not crossed – probably because I was never in the Champions League, we have not had any reason to meet. I am looking forward to seeing him again though. He is probably the best of the young, modern coaches in the world. He is the one who has had the most success. He deserves all the plaudits he gets.
“There has been a lot of things I have been looking forward to; taking the team on tour, leading them out at Wembley. But to do it at Old Trafford for the first game against Chelsea is a thrill for me, it really is. It has come quickly. I knew what it was like. This is a monster in terms of the size of the club. Getting to know everybody is not that easy. It will take me a long time to get to know how it works. The bit I have enjoyed has been getting the know the players. They have made my job very easy. They have been excellent with their level of professionalism and the way they have gone about their work.
“There is a need to do it (buy players) but there’s no pressure to do it. It’s something we’ve been talking about it since I took the job on July 1. I have an idea of where I’d like to strengthen but we won’t do it because people tell us we should be signing players. If the right players are available great, but if not the first thing we’ll do is encourage our own young players in the squad to do as well as they did last year.
Jose Mourinho, Chelsea
“There are things that we cannot change. David has experience and he knows that he cannot change history. The history that Sir Alex did is there and it is there forever. Is that a problem for David? I don’t think so. I think David doesn’t want to be compared with Sir Alex. I think he’s in the best moment of his career – maturity, experience, a big, big, big club, very good players. I think he’s in a fantastic position and I think he’s going to do very well. I hope he doesn’t win everything and he will leave something for the others, but he’s in fantastic condition.
“To me it is not a difficult decision because you want very much to keep Rooney or you don’t want to keep him? But that old-fashioned mentality of, ‘I don’t sell players to clubs in the same country’ – I think doesn’t help. Sometimes you push players abroad when you should be keeping them in your league because then you are contributing to making your league the best league. You see in Italy it happens every season without any problems. Filippo Inzaghi played for Juventus, Milan. From the big players, only Francesco Totti stayed for life. Andrea Pirlo – Inter, Milan, Juventus.
“Why? They (Old Trafford crowd) are against me? But I didn’t say (to Rooney) you will be a second choice for me. And they are against me? We are trying to get a player that the manager told ‘you will be a second option’. We are not going for (Robin) van Persie. They don’t have to be against me. If I say Ramires is a second option for me and he plays when (Frank) Lampard is tired or injured, if somebody comes here to get Ramires, nobody is upset.”
Manager Stats
Moyes v Chelsea
Games – 32Won – 3Draw – 11Lost – 18
Mourinho v Manchester United
Games – 14Won – 6Draw – 6Lost – 2
Moyes v Mourinho
Games – 6Moyes Wins – 0Draw – 2Mourinho Wins – 4
Probable Lineups
Manchester United (4-4-1-1): David De Gea; Phil Jones, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic (C), Patrice Evra; Antonio Valencia, Tom Cleverley, Michael Carrick, Danny Welbeck; Wayne Rooney; Robin van Persie.
After a convincing performance against Swansea on the opening day of the season, Moyes may be tempted to field the same team that won in Wales, but the availability of Rooney – who laid on two goals after starting from the bench – could force his way back into the starting XI. Elsewhere, it would be the same side that started last weekend. De Gea will start in goal as per usual, shielded by the back four of Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra. The partnership of Carrick and Cleverley performed well and are expected to start in the centre of midfield supported by Valencia on the right wing and Welbeck on the left. Rooney would come in for Giggs and play in the hole just behind star striker van Persie. Unfortunately Kagawa misses out once again, and will hope to make an impact from the bench.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Petr Cech; Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, John Terry (C), Ashley Cole; Ramires, Frank Lampard; Oscar, Juan Mata, Eden Hazard; Fernando Torres.
Chelsea-XI
For Chelsea, David Luiz is a huge doubt for the game, whereas up front, Mourinho has a selection headache as all the three strikers failed to score in the two Premier League games against Hull City and Aston Villa. Torres is expected to get the nod ahead of Ba and Lukaku, after he was rested from the midweek win over Villa. Other than that, the Blues are expected to start with the same team that won both their opening matches. Cech will start in between the sticks with the likes of Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry and Cole playing ahead of him in defence. Ramires and Lampard will form the two-man midfield that would be the link between the defence and the attack, while Oscar, Mata and Hazard will play just behind the lone striker Torres. De Bruyne, summer signing Schurrle and Lukaku will have to be content with their roles on the bench.
Match Facts
2 – Jose Mourinho has lost just two of his seven competitive games as a manager at Old Trafford.3 – There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Manchester United’s last 3 games in the Premier League.3 – Manchester United have scored at least 2 goals in their last 3 matches in the Premier League.6 – Chelsea have won 6 of their last 7 matches in the Premier League.6 – Javier Hernandez has scored in six of his last nine appearances against Chelsea in all competitions.8 – Manchester United have been winning at both half time and full time in 8 of their last 10 home matches in the Premier League.8 – There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 8 of Chelsea’s last 10 away games in the Premier League.9 – Chelsea have scored at least 2 goals in 9 of their last 10 matches in the Premier League.14 – Manchester United have won 14 of their last 16 home matches in the Premier League.14 – Manchester United have suffered 14 Premier League defeats against Chelsea; more than against any other side.
Referee
Name – Martin AtkinsonBased – YorkshireAge – 42Games – 1Yellow Cards – 2Red Cards – 0Penalties Awarded – 1
Prediction
A game like this is always difficult to predict, but expect an open game with goals in it judging by the attacking talent on display from both sides. The mind games have already been played and now both the managers will need to get their tactics rights if they want to stand a chance of winning the game. With United playing at Old Trafford, they are the favourites but the Mourinho-factor could swing it in favour of Chelsea. United have Van Persie, the best striker in the league and is in the form of his life, while Chelsea, on the other hand, have real creativity and flair in midfield which United lack. It will be really interesting to see how the two teams battle it out against each other. Whoever wins this one will surely be sending out a strong message to the rest of the Premier League.
Predicted Score: Manchester United 2-2 Chelsea
