Chelsea host their perennial nemesis Manchester United Saturday in the later kickoff, in what is arguably one of the greatest rivalries in the modern premiership era. Man Utd come into this battle with their tails up literally breathing fire after 6 straight wins and the key characters in this fairy tale have been the big man Fellani, and the predatory attacking instincts of Juan Mata.
Chelsea on the other hand come into this contest with 2 unconvincing wins and a 7 point cushion at the top of the league. Key figures in the last 2 wins have been Hazard and a Fabregas who seems to be recovering his groove after what most fans would consider several below par performances by his standards. Those who agree with Jose would have to say he is a victim of his own exploits after he hit the ground running and set the bar so high fans expected an assist every game.
This game will be more than a battle between two great coaching minds of this century, this is the battle for Middle Earth if I am to borrow a phrase from Lord of the Rings, the battle for midfield superiority is where the war will be lost or won on Saturday. Will Chelsea be set up to neutralise the threat of Fellani or has Jose identified some weakness in their rear-guard to capitalise on.
My prediction for Saturday’s battle is a Chelsea midfield comprising of Matic, Ramires, Fabregas, Willian and Hazard and my preferred centre back pairing would be Zouma and Terry. Backed by a vociferous crowd that has picked up the scent of a league title, I put my money on Chelsea maintaining their unbeaten home run.
