Chelsea will look to boost their own title aspirations and pile further misery on Manchester United when the clubs meet on Sunday at Stamford Bridge for a Premier League clash, kick-off at 18h00.
The Blues find themselves third on the log standings, two points adrift of leaders Arsenal, but looking in solid form after racking up five successive victories in league and cup competition.
That sequence of results has seen Chelsea return to their familiar formula of the first Jose Mourinho era: a rock-solid defence allied to a dangerous ability on the counter attack. Such has been their improvement that many pundits are now installing Chelsea as title favourites.
But this weekend they face the challenge of a wounded Manchester United, who head to West London on the back of a 2-0 win over Swansea last weekend but find themselves in the unfamiliar position of seventh on the log, 11 points off the pace of the top.
A frustrating season for United looks to be compounded in this January transfer window, as they have yet to hint at any moves in order to bolster their squad. In this regard, Chelsea are again ahead of the Red Devils, as they have strengthened their side with the return of defender Nemanja Matic from Benfica on a five-and-a-half-year deal.
Mourinho has already begun his ‘mind games’ ahead of Sunday’s clash, stating that United are “not happy: in their current situation under manager David Moyes, though he was quick to add that he believes the Scot will succeed in the long run at Old Trafford.
“My feeling, which is based on years of communicating with Sir Alex and some inside information, is Man United are not happy, but they are calm,” he is quoted by the Daily Mail.
“They trust David. David trusts them. I don’t think David is under pressure.
“The pressure is something virtual. It is something that comes from the media as a consequence of not having the best results.
“The most important thing in all of this is not the pressure that comes from the outside, it’s the reality of the inside.
“The manager is calm and they are thinking this is our manager for the next two, three, four, five years.
“So they’re all together and are going to rebuild again a big team. The bad results will finish.
“They will get back on track, although it is probably too late to win the league because they’re too many points behind the leader.”
United won at Stamford Bridge last season in a controversial clash that saw Fernando Torres sent off, but they will be without Robin van Persie and probably Wayne Rooney, severely blunting their hopes of ending Mourinho’s unbeaten league record at the Bridge.
When the teams met earlier this season at Old Trafford, they played out a tame goalless draw.
Source: MTNFootball
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