Chelsea vs. Manchester United – English Premier League Key Battles (Part 2)
In the first part of this featured series, we discussed the potentially match changing duel between Nemanja Vidic and Didier Drogba, this time it is time to analyze a possible matchup between Wayne Rooney and John Terry in Chelsea’s defence and Manchester United’s attack.
Wayne Rooney versus John Terry
The battle of two Englishman who have had indifferent form this season with their respective teams, Rooney and Terry are old friends but also familiar rivals on the Premier League stage. Both are stars of their teams and are looked upon by fans as the embodiment of their spirits on the pitch. Everyone in the English Premier League thought that Wayne Rooney had come back to form with his overhead kick two weeks ago against Manchester City at Old Trafford.
But that marvellous strike was followed up an extremely flawed performance in the round of sixteen of the UEFA Champions League against Marseille. Nonetheless, Rooney did score in United’s last Premier League encounter against Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium so the former Everton youngster is in a middle of a goal scoring burst once again. Sir Alex Ferguson usually uses a 4-5-1 formation for big matches against the likes of Chelsea and his favourite choice as the sole center forward with a five man midfield in support is usually the energetic Wayne Rooney.
Manchester United’s star striker has already admitted that the current Premier League season is one of the worst that he has had since entering professional football. Regardless, a match winning performance against Chelsea will see him become the fan favourite once again. However, such a task is easier said than done and Chelsea’s captain John Terry will be trying his best to keep Wayne Rooney at bay on Tuesday night. Chelsea’s defence has been leaking goals this season but as the Premier League approaches its business end, it is expected that Terry and co. will be on their most efficient once again.
Their previous two meetings with Manchester United in the Premier League have all ended in wins for the Blues thus Chelsea will be optimistic going into their season defining tie against the Red Devils at Stamford Bridge. For Chelsea to work, Terry must function to the best of his capabilities. In the past, the English marksman has showcased his tremendous defensive commitment by dealing with the silkiest of opponents. In Wayne Rooney, Terry will have to deal with raw power and talent to summon the extra ordinary out nothing.
Despite his appetite for the big game, Rooney has only netted two goals against Chelsea in a total of 19 matches between the two teams. Based on statistics alone, Rooney has a woeful strike rate against the English champions. Chelsea led by John Terry will most likely employ a deep defensive line to cater for the pace in United’s side. This can back fire on the Blues at their home turf as Manchester United are quite adept at breaking down defensive lines which take a negative stance when the Red are in possession of the ball. However last season John Terry dealt with the attacking threat of Wayne Rooney quite comfortably at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea ran out as eventual winners by a goal to nil.
This time around it can be a different story but this duel is undoubtedly a tightly contested one with a lot of pressure and expectations riding on both the players involved. Wayne Rooney is carrying the Manchester United banner whereas John Terry is Chelsea’s captain fantastic. It is truly set up for an amazing battle as both the key players can probably have a match changing effect on the tie as a whole.
(The views expressed by the writer are his own and do not reflect the editorial policy of www.bettor.com)
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