Man Utd v Chelsea Preview

So, Andre Vilas Boas (AvB) takes his 'new' Chelsea team to Old Trafford on Sunday looking for a watershed victory to really kick start his tenure at Stamford Bridge. The start so far has been solid but relatively unimpressive. It looks like change will be a slow process, and to be fair, why should it be any other way, given that this team finished 2nd last year and won it all the year before.

Man Utd rightly start as favourites, and I look at the game in terms of hope rather than expectation. Man Utd have been scoring for fun, and Chelsea have conceded to West Brom, Norwich and Sunderland. I can't see Chelsea shipping 8 or even 5 to Man Utd, but their abilty to score along with Chelsea's propensity to concede to pretty avarage teams concerns me.

But, Man Utd's defence is a strange mix of new and old and not so good at the moment, and Chelsea will have their chances I'm sure. Who starts in the middle of the front 3 will be interesting - it looks as if Drogba is certainly out, Anelka got the start against Sunderland last week, and Torres played against Leverkusen in midweek. Of the 2, I guess I'd have to go for Torres tomorrow - but I was much more optimistic about Torres' goalscoring abaility before the Old Trafford game last April than I am for tomorrow's game, and he was pretty subdued that day.

In saying that, Meireles and Mata look like good signings and just the sort of players that might create the sort of chances Torres needs to thrive. And I can't fault Torres' attitude in general - he played his part on Wednesday night, but I wonder would he have squared that ball if it were anyone other than Mata waiting?

So, Sturridge (who has just the sort of spark Chelsea have needed since they sent him on loan) last season looks certain to occupy the right side of the front 3, with Mata on the left. In midfield, I see Ramires and Meireles starting, with Mikel and Lampard likely to fill the remaining spot. Given it's an away game, I wonder if AvB would opt for Mikel? It would be interesting if Frank Lampard were to be left out for such a big game. On form, Ramires and Meireles deserve their spots and while Mikel has many critics, he is a very steady player, and will happily sit deep allowing those around him to play with more freedom. Lampard's role in the team is no longer clear to me I'm afraid.

At the back, it would be a huge shock if John Terry does not come back in. Given the form of Ashley Young, I'd be inclined to start Ivanovic at right back. This would leave Alex and David Luiz to fill the remainig centre back spot. Luiz of course was probably at fault for Hernandez' early opener in the April game, and seem to come in for unneecessarily harsh and public abuse from the then manager, Ancellotti. He returned to the side in midweek and scored a good goal and played some nice football, but was guilty of 2 reckless fouls that could have seen him sent off. Whether he is truly a centre back remains to be seen. So I would go for Alex - who a lot of people have written off after an average enough display against West Brom. But, I don't think he's a bad player, and maybe the time out has given him a chance to get back his focus. In my view, he was often the best defender behind Ivanovic at times last year.

For Man Utd, there aren't too many difficult choices, although goalkeeper could be an interesting one. Not that Alex Ferguson will entertain such questions. Their front 2 of Rooney and Hernandez and wingmen Young and Nani could cause Chelsea nightmares. Their weak link is probably the centre of midfield, where Chelsea will likely outnumber them in both numbers and quality. But Man Utd will probably move the ball quickly and expect their front players to work back and disrupt Chelsea posession (this could be a huge issue it both Mikel and Lampard play as both can be ponderous in possession these days) and so Chelsea's numerical advantage in that area may count for nothing.

There could be 2 wildcards for Chelsea. One is the defensive minded midfielder Oriel Romeu, who got a run out against Sunderland last weekend and performed steadily in limited action. The other more interesting option for AvB is Romelu Lukaku who could fill the 'No. 9' role - I'd like to see him up against Jonny Evans and giving David De Gea something to think about under the odd high ball. But, in line with the seeming evolution rather than revolution approach at Stamford Bridge, I suspect that a substutute appearance is the most either youngster can expect.

Given Man City's ordinary enough display during the week, a positive result for Chelsea in tomorrow's game could make many hastily re-think their 'only 2 teams can win it' proclomations of recent weeks. I'm not for a moment suggesting that Chelsea should be ranked ahead or Man Utd or Man City, but there's a lot of talent on the pitch and (potentially) on the sideline. I think they will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. But I don't expect them to win tomorrow.

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