EPL ~ Manchester United vs Chelsea

last SG · 2007-09-20T23:06:03+00:00

not too bad la. not blatant... ben haim did catch saha....

stellazio SG

Thats because they had a new manager coming in.

This Avram Grant, i doubt the players will even respect him.

omgukilledkenny SG

Hmm we shall see..maybe players like Sheva and the other fringe players will feel they have a new lease of life under Grant.

lpx88 SG

Ya...Cud Sheva be 1 of the reasons leading to Mourinho's departure as well?

Spica SG

Can look at it both ways. The team may lose their morale with their manager gone, or they may wana go thrash it out and win the game as farewell gift for him.

Either way, given Utd's current goal stinginess, I will be happy with a draw Smile

ghimpheng SG

is just that Mourinho did not receive good news about Drogba And Lampard after the UCL match he never rule them out completely for Chelsea Sunday Clash

so it will not be a surprise to see Drogba, Lampard, Carvalho, and Pizzaro available since he never 100% rule out anyone of the above

4getmenot SG

well with all the internal strife going on in chelsea lockers.. it wouldn;t surprise me if Lampard and Drogba would not be playing on saturday..

Dead_Man_Inc SG

Sunday too soon for Reds duo

Thigh injuries have ruled Owen Hargreaves and Gary Neville out of Sunday's clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford.

The pair have both trained this week, but Sir Alex Ferguson expects them to return either side of next Wednesday's Carling Cup tie with Coventry City.

"Owen Hargreaves is in training and improving all the time, he's in contention for Coventry," Sir Alex told his pre-match press conference.

"Gary Neville has joined first team training, but the Coventry game will be too early for him. We'll be looking at 7-10 days. For Sunday's game against Chelsea we'll be relying mainly on Wednesday's squad."

No new injuries were collected in United's win over Sporting Lisbon, giving Sir Alex a bulging squad for the visit of the Blues, who face their first game since the departure of manager Jose Mourinho.

Dead_Man_Inc SG

Felt that Chelsea players will be more motivated to play this match, as a form of dedication to their former manager Jose Mourinho

omgukilledkenny SG

Evra warns of Chelsea backlash

United are guarding against a Chelsea backlash in the wake of Jose Mourinho's shock exit and a poor run of form.

"Chelsea haven't been doing very well but it would be dangerous if we thought too much about that," said the Frenchman. "We don't need to be watching what they are doing and what's going on there. We need to concentrate on ourselves. We need to watch Manchester United.

"I didn't see them play the other night but I know that they are going to be ready for this game.

"We are fully focused after our win in Lisbon against Sporting. To win 1-0 away from home is a big result for the Champions League.

"It is one of the best feelings you can have after a game winning 1-0. Obviously I would prefer to win by more but a victory is a victory."

omgukilledkenny SG

Originally posted by omgukilledkenny:
[b]Evra warns of Chelsea backlash

United are guarding against a Chelsea backlash in the wake of Jose Mourinho's shock exit and a poor run of form.

"Chelsea haven't been doing very well but it would be dangerous if we thought too much about that," said the Frenchman. "We don't need to be watching what they are doing and what's going on there. We need to concentrate on ourselves. We need to watch Manchester United.

"I didn't see them play the other night but I know that they are going to be ready for this game.

"We are fully focused after our win in Lisbon against Sporting. To win 1-0 away from home is a big result for the Champions League.

"It is one of the best feelings you can have after a game winning 1-0. Obviously I would prefer to win by more but a victory is a victory."[/b]

Yup Evra hit the nail on the head there.

Dead_Man_Inc SG

Sir Alex Ferguson is set to stick with the same squad which carved out a midweek Champions League win in Lisbon.

Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves are inching towards full fitness but neither will play and Carlos Tevez and Nani are vying for a place in attack.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant will start his first match in charge with Andriy Shevchenko in attack as Didier Drogba and Claudio Pizarro are both injured.

Frank Lampard and Ricardo Carvalho remain sidelined with thigh injuries.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Heaton, Brown, Vidic, Ferdinand, Pique, Evans, Evra, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Anderson, Nani, Gibson, Eagles, Martin, Giggs, Rooney, Tevez, Saha, Dong.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Terry, Alex, Ben Haim, Obi, A Cole, Belletti, J Cole, Essien, Shevchenko, Kalou, Malouda, Wright-Phillips, Obi, Sidwell, Sawyer, Hutchinson.

BIG-MATCH FACTS
The second of this season's clashes between the so-called "Big Four" clubs; Manchester United's first and Chelsea's second, after drawing 1-1 away to Liverpool on 19 August.

United are pursuing a fifth straight win in all competitions and fourth on the spin in the Premier League, however they've not scored more than a single goal in any game this season.

Chelsea begin the post-Mourinho era, in search of their second win in six league and cup outings, and first goal in three Premier League matches.

Victory in Avram Grant's first match in charge, would also be Chelsea's 1,500th league win in their history.

Sir Alex Ferguson had only registered one win in six Premier League meetings with Jose Mourinho; the 1-0 victory at Old Trafford on 6 November 2005 in which Darren Fletcher scored, famously ending Chelsea's 40-match unbeaten League run.

CLUB FORM
MANCHESTER UNITED
1. Won the last four in all competitions, all by 1-0 margins, home to Spurs and Sunderland and away to Everton in the Premier League, and away to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

2. Not won four consecutive league games in 13 outings, since registering seven in a row on 31 March.

3. Only Reading have scored fewer Premier League goals (three).

4. Their league matches have yielded just a goal a game on average - the lowest such ratio by any club in the Premier League; six games, six goals - four for, two against.

5. On the longest current run in the Premier League of nine matches since scoring more than one goal in a game; the most recent being the 2-4 victory, away to Everton on 28 April.

6. Netted more than a single goal in only one of the last 11 league fixtures.

7. Let in more than a single goal in only one of the last 12 league fixtures.

8. On the longest current run in the Premier League of 46 matches since losing by more than a single goal; the 3-0 reverse by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 29 April 2006.

9. Conceded just three goals in nine league games and none in the last three or 329 minutes (five hours 29 minutes) of Premier League football, since Geovanni's winner for Manchester City in the derby clash at Eastlands on 19 August.

CHELSEA
1. Drawn the last two; 0-0, home to Blackburn in the Premier League, and 1-1, home to Rosenborg in the Champions League.

2. Won one of the last four Premier League matches; 1-0 home to Portsmouth.

3. Fallen behind in four of their six Premier League matches.

4. Gained an unparalleled seven points from matches in which they were losing (won two, drawn one).

5. Not scored in two Premier League games, or 239 minutes (three hours 59 minutes) since Frank Lampard's winner, home to Portsmouth on 25 August.

6. They only lost 10 of 120 Premier League matches under Jose Mourinho.

7. Lost one of 10 away league games; 2-0 at Aston Villa in their most recent league game on the road on 2 September.

8. The next Premier League fixture will be the local derby, home to Fulham, next Saturday.

KEY PLAYER NOTES
MANCHESTER UNITED
Paul SCHOLES, Louis SAHA, NANI and Nemanja VIDIC are the only players to have scored for Manchester United in this Premier League season - one goal each.

RONALDO and Ryan GIGGS are their only other scorers - just one each also.

GIGGS is a double short of 100 career League goals.

If he plays:-

Wayne ROONEY will be making his 150th appearance in a Manchester United shirt.

Louis SAHA will be making his 200th English league appearance (Newcastle, Fulham and Manchester United).

If on the field from the outset:-

John O'SHEA will be making his 200th start for Manchester United.

Chris EAGLES will be making his 50th English league start (Manchester United, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday).

Gary NEVILLE will be making his 350th Premier League start - all for the Red Devils.

CHELSEA
Frank LAMPARD is Chelsea's leading scorer with three goals - all in the Premier League.

If he plays:-

ASHLEY COLE will be making his 200th career league appearance (Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Chelsea).

John Mikel OBI will be making his 50th appearance in a Chelsea shirt.

Michael BALLACK will be playing three days before his 31st birthday.

HEAD TO HEAD
Manchester United and Chelsea met 10 times in all competitions when Jose Mourinho was in charge at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea won five; Manchester United won one in normal time, and also won this season's Community Shield on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Wembley.

Chelsea's only win in five Premier League matches at the Theatre of Dreams was 1-3 on 10 May 2005 when Tiago, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole got on the score sheet.

Home and away
League (inc PL): Man United 54 wins, Chelsea 36, Draws 40
Prem: Man United 8 wins, Chelsea 9, Draws 13

at Man United only
League (inc PL): Man United 25 wins, Chelsea 17, Draws 23
Prem: Man United 4 wins, Chelsea 4, Draws 7

LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea
26 November 2006 - Ref: Howard Webb
Man United scorer: Saha 29
Chelsea scorer: Carvalho 69

REFEREE
Mike Dean (Wirral)

imprezaWRXSTi22B SG

alan shearer?

imprezaWRXSTi22B SG

no hargreaves i think.

what about tevez?

omgukilledkenny SG

I think he’ll field the exact same side as the one against Lisbon, except that Saha comes in for Nani.

omgukilledkenny SG

Let me at 'em - Roo

Wayne Rooney is ready to let loose his pent-up aggression on Chelsea tomorrow.

United's 21-year-old hitman made his comeback from a broken metatarsal in Portugal in midweek and is hoping for a starting berth against the Londoners at Old Trafford.

"Of course I would like to take out the frustration of the last few weeks on Chelsea," he said.

zocoss SG

Yea yea... this is the smart alec i was referring to...

imprezaWRXSTi22B SG

Originally posted by omgukilledkenny:
[b]Let me at 'em - Roo

Wayne Rooney is ready to let loose his pent-up aggression on Chelsea tomorrow.

United's 21-year-old hitman made his comeback from a broken metatarsal in Portugal in midweek and is hoping for a starting berth against the Londoners at Old Trafford.

"Of course I would like to take out the frustration of the last few weeks on Chelsea," he said.
[/b]

woo.... ronaldo said the same things after his 3 match suspension... Mr. Green

Dead_Man_Inc SG

preparing for the worst, chelsea might be more motivated to play.

going to coffeeshop to watch already Laughing

turbo_drift SG

Paulo Ferreira is in the starting line-up.

omgukilledkenny SG

thats good... Laughing

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