Preview: Manchester United vs Chelsea

Old Trafford

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Manchester United

Manchester United manager David Moyes will look to keep his 100% record intact as his side face off against old rivals Chelsea following a handy 1-4 away victory against Swansea City. It will indeed be an uphill task for Moyes to keep the first team squad fit for the future fixtures such as Liverpool and Manchester City.

However, the immediate mission for the manager will be to fend off interests in star player Wayne Rooney, especially considering that their Monday evening opponents are preparing a third bid for the player, while the pressure of signing a new ‘marquee’ player is also there.

It will also be interesting to see whether Moyes decides to hand Wilfried Zaha his premier league début or goes with Antonio Valencia, and one might also get the notion that Shinji Kagawa might get the nod, until the Wayne Rooney situation is completely mitigated. To summarize, it is very unlikely that Moyes will bring in any changes to the side that won at Swansea the previous weekend.

Considering that this is perhaps the hardest start to a Premier League campaign, David Moyes will be optimistic about the fact that the likes of Ashley Young, Nani and Chicharito are on the road to recovery. However, Brazilian full back Rafael da Silva remains sidelined for three to four weeks. Jonny Evans might be the emergency call up, should Nemanja Vidic not be at a 100% fitness for the game.

United manager David Moyes speaking about the fixture said -

“I came for this sort of level of game but I also came to win trophies. To do that you have to beat the likes of Chelsea. It’s a great first home game for us to have. They have started strongly, have good players and are a good team. There’s not a big change to the team – they just have a new manager, a bit like us.”

“I really like Jose. He’s had great success. I’ve not seen him for a long time so I’m looking forward to seeing him.”

Chelsea F.C.

As much as it is a pleasure to welcome back Jose Mourhino to the Premier League fold, it is evident that the egoistic, eccentric and the so called ” Special One”, has returned as the calm, calculated, composed and newly accepted ” The Happy One”, who is set to take the club by storm. Similar to his Manchester United counterpart, Mourhino too has two wins out of two and will be hoping that his Chelsea side maintain the winning streak. The 2-1 home victory over Aston Villa ensure that Chelsea’s record under Mourhino recorded 61 consecutive home victories.

Fernando Torres has confirmed his starting spot on the team sheet, following his omission from the squad in the midweek fixture against Aston Villa. Mourhino will also be hoping that his new additions Andre Schurrle and Marco van Ginkel will also have a say in Monday evening’s proceedings at Old Trafford. Having started the game midweek, Frank Lampard, Demba Ba and John Terry might be rested. The following week’s UEFA Super Cup fixture against Bayern Munich might also influence the tactics employed by Mourhino.

Jose Mourhino can take pride in the fact that his record against Manchester United is particularly good, with three Premier League wins out of five with one loss and a draw.

Head to Head

5 May 2013 Manchester United 0-1 Chelsea (Premier League)

1 April 2013 Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United ( F.A. Cup replay)

10 March 2013 Manchester United 2-2 Chelsea ( F.A. Cup)

1 November 2013 Chelsea 5-4 Manchester United ( Capital One Cup)

28 October 2013 Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United ( Premier League)

Last five matches in the Premier League

Manchester United- WDWLD

Chelse F.C.- WWWWD

Predicted Lineups

Manchester United

Bench: Lindergaard, Anderson, Smalling, Kagawa, Januzaj, Zaha

Chelsea

Bench: Schwarzer, Terry, Hazard, Lukaku, Lampard, Moses