Football Update: EPL weekend preview- Chelsea vs. Manchester United
This Sunday marks the Clash of Titans at Stamford Bridge. United are undefeated in the Premier League and in Europe, and are favourites to record their first win at home of champions since 2002. Dimitar Berbatov seems to be in goal scoring form after blasting
5 goals against Blackburn Rovers, while the talismanic Wayne Rooney is steadily improving with each game. After the 1-0 whipping of Arsenal at Old Trafford, the Red Devils will be coming with “there tails wagging!” They have gone without victory at Stamford
Bridge eight years, but you can be assured the Red Devils will give the fight of their lives!
The champions would want to end their miserable five-match winless run in the league come this Sunday. It’s been a rough few weeks for Chelsea. Having demolished teams so early in the season, they have gone form being lions to lambs. Flourent Malouda has
recently been quoted on record saying that The Blues have lost there fear factor and he is quite right. They are no longer a striking fear into there opponents hearts. Over the past few weeks they have come under scrutiny with defeats to Liverpool Sunderland
and Birmingham City. This has left the lads from North London in tatters. Coupled with a plague of injuries and Abramovich’s abrupt sacking of Ray Wilkins, Chelsea has come under intense media scrutiny. Ancelotti’s men are going to have an uphill battle come
Sunday.
Most likely we will see a 4-5-1 strategy used by Sir Alex for Sunday’s game. In recent times, Fergie has met some success with this formation so we should see the role of the lone striker be given to Rooney. His sharpness, speed and creativity will cause some
problems for John Terry and Branislav Ivanović especially as The Blues captain is not 100 % match fit and lacks pace in his old age.
Another key battle in the game for Premier League supremacy would be Didier Drogba vs. Nemanja Vidić and Rio Ferdinand, one the world’s strongest and most complete centre forwards against Europe’s best centre back duo. This battle will be a physical one
as Drogba should prove a handful after looking fully recovered from malaria and confidence high after scoring against Spurs. This however should prove no problem for these two as they are both experienced and what one lacks in pace the other makes up for it
in strength.
Evra will also be available and offers a genuine attacking option down the left flank and has the delivery to make the most of some dangerous positions higher up the pitch. His pace is also a fantastic asset and he is strong in the air he will most likely have
the task of taking on the dangerous Anelka. This will be a tricky one for Patrice, as Anelka is strong aerially and his clever movement helps him give defenders the slip.
Nani and Park Ji Sung are important if United is too come away with a win. Nani with his trickery and speed has been a nightmare for defenders this season and especially linking with Rooney in front the Portuguese winger is finally starting to shows signs
of filling in the spot left vacant by his illustrious predecessor CR7. Park has become the most vital player in the Old Trafford outfit this season. Having infinite amounts of energy, stamina and work-rate, the Korean who is considered to have "Three Lungs"
will be booming with confidence after his goal against Arsenal.
It will be interesting to see how Paulo Ferreira and Ashley Cole take on the likes of Park and Nani while trying to surge forward. In addition, Frank Lampard may be starting in Sunday’s match which will give Chelsea a big boost since his absence has left
The Blues with a lack of creativity in the midfield.
Chelsea boasts one of the strongest sides in Europe and they will use this to there advantage at Stamford Bridge. Stamford Bridge has an area of 8250 square yards (110 x 75 yards) making it six yards narrower and 1 yard shorter than Old Trafford. This will
work to Chelsea’s advantage, due to the lack of space to move players like Drogba, and Terry who lack pace but are very strong and would tend to "bully" players off the ball and close down their foes easily on the field. Another tactic that would also be used
by Chelsea would be a 4-1-5 formation, where long crosses will be sent into Anelka and Drogba if they happen to fall behind in the score line. This could serve as an advantage to Manchester as they are good on the break and are excellent in counter attacking
football.
It's both a crucial time in the campaign for both these sides. One side has history of positive results at there home ground and experience versus a side with speed and the confidence of being undefeated in the Premier League. Who will win come Sunday? This
is a hard question to answer but odds favour Manchester United.
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