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League leaders Chelsea host Manchester United on Sunday in a top of the table clash, with many expecting the result to go a long way in deciding the destination of the Barclays Premier League Title. It can arguably be called England‘s own ‘el clasico’, and the mouthwatering clash is also the first time Roberto Di Matteo would be squaring off against Sir Alex Ferguson since taking over from Andre Villas Boas. Chelsea would be looking to extend their lead over United to a mammoth 7 points, despite only a quarter of the league season played.
As part of the buildup of the biggest game of the season, let’s take a look at the players who would make the combined starting XI of the top two teams in the Premier League, based on their current form. The formation chosen for this fantasy XI is 4-4-1-1, with 7 Chelsea players and 4 United players making the list.
GOALKEEPER: Petr Cech (Chelsea)
The goalkeeper selection was a no-brainer as United tend to keep rotating between David de Gea and Anders Lindegaard, whereas Petr Cech has been at his consistent best for the European Champions. Cech has kept 4 clean sheets in 8 Premier League matches so far and will be an important figure for Chelsea in Sunday’s showdown.
DEFENCE: Branislav Ivanovic – Gary Cahill – Ashley Cole – Rio Ferdinand
The defence is dominated by Chelsea due to their excellent defensive record, having conceded the least number of goals in the league as well as the highest number of clean sheets. Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic have been solid whenever called into action, and have also been among the scorers, with 7 goals amongst them. Ashley Cole is still probably the best left back in the world, is showing no signs of slowing down and gets the nod over the struggling Patrice Evra and inexperienced Alex Buttner. Rio Ferdinand deservedly keeps his place due to his excellent reading of the game and classy defending, game after game he has proved to be the lone positive aspect of United’s leaky defence.
MIDFIELD: Juan Mata – Ramires Santos – Paul Scholes – Eden Hazard
The inclusion of Paul Scholes in this list explains how important he still is for Manchester United despite coming back from retirement last season. With his unmatched vision, Scholes is United’s biggest asset in midfield. Chelsea’s new look attacking midfield trio promises to be one of the most feared triumvirates in European Football. However, Oscar misses out on this list as Eden Hazard and Juan Mata have been comparatively superior in the League. Amongst them, Hazard and Mata have amassed 8 goals and 17 assists in all competitions and have been deployed on both the flanks in this list. Supporting Paul Scholes in the middle is Ramires, who has been delivering consistent industrious performances for the European Champions, and is a huge asset with his constant running and energetic bursts forward.
ATTACK: Wayne Rooney – Robin Van Persie.
There is no doubt about which team has a better strike force in the league currently. Fernando Torres has been amongst the goals this season, however he still has some work to do before he can convince the fans that he’s back to his sublime best. United, on the other hand have the most potent strike duo in the league, with Robin Van Persie again at the top of the scorer’s chart and Wayne Rooney’s unbelievable work rate turning matches around for the Red Devils.
7 Chelsea stars feature in this unconventional 4-4-1-1 formation .
