Football : English Premier League
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
26th August 2013 – Kickoff time 21:00
Match Preview :
Monday Night Football comes from the Theatre of Dreams as Manchester United play host to Chelsea in what will be a clash of the "Premiership Contenders" match. This will be the match where the reigning Champions comes head to head against the side that is expected to win the Premiership this season!
Chelsea have been busy in the transfer market but United managed to go top of the Premiership for a while after beating Swansea 4-1 at the Liberty Stadium last weekend, Chelsea overcame Aston Villa 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in a midweek clash to go top of the table.
For the record, the last time these two sides faced each other in the Premiership, Chelsea came out victorious winning by 1-0.
But United managed to win at Stamford Bridge prior to that defeat. It must be remembered that United had a good home form last season, whereby they managed 16 wins from 19 home matches. Meanwhile, Chelsea had managed ten wins and five defeats on their travels last season. The previous five meetings between these two sides have seen both teams managed two wins each with one match drawn, making Monday’s game a very difficult one to predict how it will go.
Chelsea will have some very difficult matches to comes still with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City to come next. And despite all the talk about United failing to bring in players during the transfer window, it must still be remembered that the Red Devils still have the Premier League’s most lethal finisher as Van Persie’s brace against Swansea simply demonstrates that the striker has now replaced Rooney as the top striker at the club, even though it is Rooney who is dominating the newspaper headlines of late.
But Chelsea has been given a new lease of life with the return of "The Special One" to London and are now desperate to relive Jose Mourinho’s return by winning the Premiership. This Chelsea is different from the one of 2004-06, so combining the creative prowess of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar to a more attacking force is Mourinho's priority now. And having played Fernando Torres in his opening game, Demba Ba against Aston Villa and with Romelu Lukaku, back from his excellent loan spell at West Brom last season, Mounrinho will need to decide who will he field upfront in this match against Manchester United.
Then don't forget there is also the small talk about Wayne Rooney as Chelsea are still hoping to land him before the transfer market shuts. Mourinho has insisted he will wait until after Monday’s match before making a third bid for the England striker as United maintain that Rooney is not for sale. And the latest news that has emerged is that there could be a swap deal for Mata in place of Rooney also. And the very latest is the unconfirmed reports suggest Chelsea have all but completed a £32 million signing of Anzhi Makhachala star Willian from under Tottenham’s noses as well as Samuel Eto'o.
Team News :
Manchester United Team News :
Rooney could force his way back into the line-up tonight but the other option Moyes could consider is the combination of Welbeck and Van Persie upfront after they scored a brace apiece last weekend.
Ryan Giggs could, however, make way for Rooney in the wings. Ferdinand and Vidic are expected to be in the starting lineup, hile Phil Jones could be given a holding role to mark Mata out.
Chelsea Team News :
David Luiz is still a doubt with a hamstring problem, whereas up front, Mourinho has started with Fernando Torres and Demba Ba as the lone striker against Hull and Villa however, Romelu Lukaku is expected to lead the line at Old Trafford after coming on from the subs bench in each of the last two games.
De Bruyne played well against Hull City nd may be expected to start alongside Mata and Hazard. Mata, Hazard and De Bruyne are likely to play behind a lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Possible lineups
Manchester United : De Gea; Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Carrick,Cleverley, Rooney; Welbeck; van Persie.
Chelsea : P. Cech;B. Ivanovic, G. Cahill, J. Terry, A. Cole; Ramires, F. Lampard; De Bruyne, J.Mata, E. Hazard; R. Lukaku
Prediction:
Go for Manchester United and give the 1/4 ball in this match. If it does end in a draw, be prepared to lose half the stakes.
The Pick :
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