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Chelsea vs Manchester United is undoubtedly the big clash of the Premier League this weekend. The mouthwatering encounter at Stamford Bridge has narratives written all over it and will provide a great deal of entertainment for football lovers around the world.
The story on the pitch is that Nemanja Matic may not recover from his back injury in time to face his former club. The Serb pulled himself out of international duty mid-week in the hope of recovering for the tie, but it does not look like he'll make it. Fred should be a straight swap to deputise for the £40 million holding midfielder, who followed Mourinho into Old Trafford from Chelsea the summer before last, and who's been a prominent feature of the Red Devils' midfield since his arrival.
The story from the sidelines, and probably the most powerful narrative on Saturday, will be the contrasting styles of two managers, who could not be more separated in terms of the job-security spectrum.
Sarri has been the surprise package in the Premier League this year. He's a stark contrast to the new-world 'modern' 30-to-40-year-old managers of today. In fact, Sarri only started coaching at 40, and now at 59, he comes with an incredible reputation as a diligent tactician, a genius in man-management, but also as a manager who promotes free-flowing football, the kind that has allowed the likes of Hazard, David Luiz, and Willian to find a new lease of life at Chelsea.
On the opposite end of it all is Mourinho, who at times seems to have the full weight of the world on his shoulders.
Such has been his war with the press, his players, the club's board, and anyone else who dares get in his way, that you can't help but feel that his mind is not fully on transforming his team's fortunes around, but more on war and trying to get himself out of this mess.
Even after the Ferguson-esque escape against Newcastle in their last match, his march down the pitch toward the tunnel at Old Trafford was one of sheer defiance. Visibly animated, he swore in Portuguese right at the cameras and has now been charged by the F.A. for foul and abusive language.
It would be a big disappointment for football as a whole if he was to be banned from his return back to his former club, but that is now looking a very real possibility.
Finally, the story off the pitch is the one that gives the fans of both teams a chance to get one up on each other in a rivalry that has, in recent years, become one of the most fiercely competitive ones in the Premier League.
Mourinho himself has not been too happy on previous returns to Stamford Bridge with The Red Devils. The 4-0 defeat to Antonio Conte's side almost 2 years ago to the day being one of particular displeasure, and any kind of repeat would not go down well at all with the Manchester United hierarchy.
Such has been the roller-coaster ride in the last few weeks surrounding Manchester United and Mourinho, that it wouldn't come as much of surprise to see him lose his position at the helm of the most powerful club in England very soon. A defeat would pull him ever closer to that door, but a win here would surely go some way in swinging things in the opposite direction. And what the Portuguese manager wouldn't give for that.
