Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho will be in action for the first time at The Stamford Bridge, since he left Chelsea. | Image: XtraTime
Internet Desk: At last, one of the most anticipated games of the Premier League season has arrived. It is without a doubt that every fan was eagerly waiting to witness the return of former Chelsea gaffer Jose Mourinho, who is now the boss of rivals Manchester United, when the two powerhouses will lock horns at the Stamford Bridge.
It is a little bit unusual that an away team manager is the topic of discussion before a key game in the competition. The primary reason for that discussion is that the Chelsea fans are still undecided on the reception Jose Mourinho deserves or whether he deserves any.
Some say the most successful manager of the club, who will forever have a place in their history books, should be welcomed warmly – while some cannot forget that he has accepted the job of a rival club.
Team News
Chelsea will be missing a few players, but none that should have a huge effect on their team selection. Cesc Fabregas, Kurt Zouma, Branislav Ivanovic, and Marko Van Ginkel all look set to miss out on the squad.
The Red Devils will also be missing a few players, but also shouldn’t have their first XI effected too much. Chris Smalling could miss out, as he will undergo a late fitness test for a minor muscle injury. Morgan Schneiderlin is also set to undergo a late fitness test after picking up an injury against Liverpool. Phil Jones is set to miss out, while Jose Mourinho has said Henrikh Mkhitaryan is ready to make his comeback soon.
Interesting Statistics
Man United have not beaten Chelsea since their 3-2 win in October 2012. Since then, four of the goalscorers, Juan Mata, Ramires, Robin Van Persie, and Chicharito Hernnadez, have left the teams they were on, and David Luiz, scorer of an own goal, left Chelsea and came back. That match also included Chelsea getting two players sent off in a five minute span. Diego Costa, currently the league’s top scorer with seven goals, is still one yellow card away from a suspension.
The key men:
Chelsea: Diego Costa
As mentioned above, Costa is the league’s top scorer with seven goals, and he hasn’t even had to take any penalties to boost his tally. After a pretty poor 2015/2016, Costa seems to have found his deadly form again. He is back to the striker that tests opponents defenses, as opposed to his own teammates and manager’s temperaments. Surprisingly, not too much has changed year to year with Costa’s shot numbers, he’s only raised his total shots by about half a shot per 90 minutes and his shots inside the box per 90 minutes numbers are essentially identical. Whatever he is doing differently, it’s working for him so far, and Chelsea will need him to keep it up, as the rest of the team only has eight goals combined.
Manchester United: Paul Pogba
Pogba has had a bit of a rough introduction to English football so far. He hasn’t been able to put in the dominating performances he did at Juventus, and his moments of magic have not happened often enough for the United fans. After two goals on Thursday against Fenerbache, granted one was a penalty, Pogba will hope this is a turning point for him. With the price Manchester United paid for the Frenchman, they’ll want him to dominate the big matches. They don’t come much bigger than Manchester United vs Chelsea.
