Premier League: Can Manchester United Turn Back the Clock Against Chelsea?
This week the Premier League offers a fascinating blockbuster, along with a tricky trip to London for the reigning champions.
Manchester United v. Chelsea (Sunday, October 26th – 12:00 PM ET, NBC)
For many Manchester United fans, the last few days have to feel a lot like the first week of November of 2005. Nearly nine years ago, an all-mighty Chelsea side boasting a 40-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League came swaggering into Old Trafford sitting 13 points ahead of a crumbling United in the standings.
The home side was battling all sorts of issues: injuries, damaging remarks about United’s young players by then-captain Roy Keane (who, oddly enough, has been a fixture in the news cycle these days due to, you guessed it, controversial statements), as well as your run-of-the-mill string of bad results in both the league and Europe. Things looked bleak for Sir Alex Ferguson, who seemed destined to celebrate his 19th anniversary as United boss with a big heaping of misery.
And yet, this happened:
That extremely unlikely Darren Fletcher goal (who, incidentally, is the only United player from that 2005 side who could line up against Chelsea on Sunday) served as a turning point for the struggling Red Devils back then. Hence, United fans sure hope that this week-long déjà vu has a similarly happy ending. After all, the current United team is surely in need of a statement win.
Most of the momentum that came after two home wins evaporated for Manchester United as they barely escaped the Hawthorns with a solitary point last week. Once again, it was the Reds’ defense that got exposed; twice this time by the speedy West Brom frontline. Lack of proper communication and spatial awareness between the fullbacks and the centerbacks forced United to dig deep just to avoid their third defeat in a very young season.
The Reds seem mired in inconsistency, and it’s worth remembering that they’re a very young squad. How young? Apparently United fielded the second-youngest starting lineup in all of Europe last week. But just as Keane had questions about United’s youth back then, today’s more expensive youngsters are also under the spotlight – particularly the ones in charge of defending.
All of that being said, one positive outcome was achieved by déjà vu team last week: for the first time this season, they managed to score a goal in the last 15 minutes of a match. Daley Blind’s equalizer was also just the second overall goal scored by United in the last half hour of their matches this season.
As a handy comparison, Chelsea has scored 11 goals in that same time frame.
Speaking of the West Londoners, the consensus title favorites are facing their first bits of adversity of the campaign in the shape of injuries and a suspension. Diego Costa, a one-man wrecking crew, is allegedly out of contention for Sunday’s match due to a combination of a groin injury suffered at some point during his two starts for Spain a week and a half ago and a hospital stay due to a strong stomach bug. Not only that, but Costa’s understudy, Loic Remy, is out as well.
That leaves past United tormentor Didier Drogba as the lone senior striker option for Jose Mourinho, and even he claims not being “fully fit.” However, this is Jose Mourinho we’re talking about, so it will surprise no one if it’s Costa leading the line on Sunday, with Drogba on the bench.
Another item to monitor is the fact that for the first time in Premier League play this season, Mourinho will be forced to select a different back four. The Special One has enjoyed the luxury of being able to rely on the same quartet so far, and it seemed like the Ivanovic-Terry-Cahill-Azpilicueta line was getting better and better with every game. However, Azpilicueta was sent off against Palace for a hideous challenge, so Chelsea supporters can only hope that Filipe Luis, who’s yet to start a game for the Blues after his summer move from Atlético Madrid, can fill in without incident.
United have dealt with plenty of adversity so far in the season, and this week is no different. In a sight that surely worried everyone associated with the Manchester club, Di María was seen getting his thigh wrapped with ice shortly after taking a seat on the bench after being subbed out in the second half of the 2-2 draw. Adding to that, Ander Herrera played arguably his worst half of his short United career in his protective corset, and he was yanked at halftime. Playing with a broken rib might not be as straightforward as he thought.