Preview
This week Chelsea welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge in what looks set to be a cagey match.
The Red Devils have recently hit a bit of form after beating Derby 3-1 last week and then Stoke 3-0 earlier this week. Against Stoke Van Gaal’s side were back to playing what Man United fans were used to seeing under Sir Alex Ferguson.
However they will be up against an improved Chelsea side since our last meeting with them at Old Trafford on 28th December. Chelsea are unbeaten since the middle of December when we lost to table toppers Leicester away from home, therefore on Sunday we certainly won’t be a push over.
Last Sunday Chelsea smashed MK Dons 5-1 and despite the Dons struggling near the bottom of the Championship, Chelsea looked unstoppable no matter who we played in the cup that day. But The Blues were back down to earth when we faced Watford a few days later and unfortunately wasted the few chances we created in the match.
If Chelsea are to get a good result Sunday, we certainly need to improve upon that performance.
Sunday will also see Juan Mata return to Chelsea for only the second time since joining Man United. The Spaniard is expected to receive an excellent reception after being our player of the year in 2011-12 and 2012-13. But hopefully he won’t enjoy the game too much.
Come on Chelsea!
Match details
Sunday, 7th February, kick off 4pm at Stamford Bridge on Sky Sports 1.
Recent form
In our last 5 matches Chelsea have continued our unbeaten run but have still picked up too many draws. We have drawn 3 (Everton, West Brom and Watford) in the 5 matches in all competitions and won 2 (Arsenal and MK Dons).
Man United have won 3 (Liverpool, Derby and Stoke), drawn 1 (Newcastle) and lost 1 (Southampton) of their last 5 fixtures.
Chelsea will be hoping to extend our unbeaten run against Man United to 10 games on Sunday, having won 5 and drawn 4 of the last 9 meetings.
Team news
Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy remain out injured for Chelsea but Hiddink expects the latter to be available from next week. Alexandre Pato will also be out for up to 6 weeks as he’s still lacking match fitness having not played since Novemeber. Pedro is Chelsea’s only other concern. He’s missed some of training this week but it’s still likely he’ll be available for selection.
For Man United Schweinsteiger will miss the trip to London likewise Rojo, Shaw and Valencia will too. Jones is recovering well but again he will be likely to miss the match as well.
Score predictionÂ
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United.