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Well it should be another exciting weekend in the Premier League with the men in Chelsea jerseys facing the Red Devils of Manchester United. The Blues are coming in to the match on a bad streak after dropping points in the last five of their matches, and having slipped to fourth in the table. Manchester United haven’t exactly been sparkling of late either. Wayne Rooney may be back playing in the first team, but his form seems to mirror the up and down performance of the team as a whole. His absurd run up to the penalty he skyed over the bar seems to have said it all about the fortunes of United this season, lots of flash, questionable results.
United do have several things going for them going into the match, the first being their tendency to improve in the latter half of the season. Since their dismal display at West Ham a few weeks ago they have improved steadily, and now boast the linked passing and flowing, instinctive play which we have come to love. Beating Chelsea is never easy, especially at home, and the Red Devils have a poor record against them at home, however, they have never had a better chance. Frank Lampard, Chelsea’s center piece in the mid-field will be started for the match, but he only managed a few minutes against Tottenham. His nagging groin injury has plagued him for weeks now, but I think its too soon to see him come back for the whole of the match. Look for him to make it to the 60th minute, but I would expect him to subbed after that. Didier Drogba, who put the silly in his soccer shoes to miss the injury time penalty against Tottenham last week, will start, and I’m looking forward to watching him battle the United defense on both sides for possession, and perhaps sneak a goal.
As for United, they will be without the injured Paul Scholes, but should start their first team as well, but for the most part, they have to overcome their historical weakness playing Chelsea at home. Ferguson must adjust his tactics to take into account the punishing runs of the Chelsea strikers in his defense, and play tow strikers with a high midfield in order to volley in any shots parried by Cech.
It should be a cracking, end to end match with a few bad tempered tackles delivered by both sides. Combined with their standings in the table, and the hunger Chelsea have displayed to get a win at home over a big club to reignite their title hopes, I’m very optimistic. I’m predicting Chelsea 2-1 Man Utd
Written by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com
