Chelsea vs. Manchester United: All-Time Combined XI | Premier League 2019-20

Midfield: Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard

Roy Keane led from the front for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United and Chelsea have had some tremendous talent in midfield during the Premier League era, but despite plenty of options, these three players stand just above the rest of their contemporaries.

Chelsea’s Claude Makelele might be recognised as the man who popularised the idea of a holding midfielder, but it’s impossible to leave out United’s inspirational Irishman Roy Keane when it comes to a deeper, tough-tackling player in the centre of the park.

With his incredible tenacity, non-stop running and scarcely believable ability to drive his side forward, Keane was much more than a regular holding midfielder – at times he played more as a box-to-box man, as evidenced by his 51 career goals for the Red Devils. United’s captain for many of his 13 seasons at Old Trafford, Keane inspired his teammates to greatness – and won 7 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups and the Champions League during his time there.

Paul Scholes in arguably the greatest midfielder to have played in the Premier League

Paul Scholes meanwhile is widely recognised as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Initially breaking through as more of an attacking midfielder – even playing as a support striker or false #9 at times during his early years – he was often renowned for his goals, scoring 155 for United including a personal best haul of 20 in 2002-03.

In his later years though, the England international became known as a midfielder capable of dictating an entire game with his passing range from the centre of the pitch, either as a deeper-lying or more attacking playmaker. Scholes retired in 2013 after a career as a one-club player, winning 18 major honours with United including 11 Premier League titles and 2 Champions Leagues.

Current Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is arguably their greatest ever player

Finally, as an attacking, goalscoring midfielder, you simply cannot overlook Frank Lampard. The current Chelsea manager initially broke through at West Ham, but it was after his move to Stamford Bridge in 2001 that he really cemented himself as a truly world-class performer.

Season after season saw the England international play as the key man for the Blues, making late runs into the box or smashing the ball in from distance to score a ludicrous amount of goals from midfield. As of writing, Lampard remains the only midfielder to score more than 150 Premier League goals, and despite not being a striker, he also stands as Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer with 211 strikes.

Lampard wasn’t just about scoring goals, though; he also sits 4th in the Premier League’s all-time assists table with a total of 102, meaning he had involvement with a total of 279 goals in England’s top flight. When he departed Chelsea in 2014, he’d helped them to 3 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, and the Champions League. He’s arguably the Blues’ greatest ever player.