da roleta： The Premier League’s fixture makers have simply refused to disappoint this season, providing us with at least one mouth-watering match-up every weekend.
da betano casino： Today saw Manchester City play hosts to Leicester City in a rather unexpected potential title-decider, whilst Manchester United make the trip to Chelsea at 4pm tomorrow afternoon.
This fixture has never been much of a thriller; during the last six encounters, there have been two scoreless draws, two one-nils and overall just eight goals. It’s also been incredibly one-sided, with Chelsea claiming twelve points compared to the visitors’ three.
But United boast considerable advantage in the league table, eight places and eleven points above the Blues before this weekend, and if this season has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is impossible in the crazy world of Premier League football.
So hoping to provide some logic to all the madness, Football Fancast have taken a look at FIVE key individual battles we think will decide this game.
WAYNE ROONEY VS JOHN TERRY
Following last weekend’s revelation that he expects to leave Chelsea at the end of the season, this could be John Terry’s last ever game against Manchester United and he’ll resultantly be determined to put in a good performance against one of his oldest enemies.
Likewise, this game is set up for the Blues’ veteran skipper. Chelsea usually set up deep with him in the starting line-up anyway but United infamously lack counter-attacking threat, so the chances of him being caught for pace are rather minimal.
That being said, his armband counterpart Wayne Rooney is amid a midseason renaissance, bagging seven goals and two assists in his last seven appearances across all competitions, and showing the level of form worthy of the England captaincy at next summer’s European Championships.
These two old pros have faced each other and represented the Three Lions together on countless occasions before. Knowing each other so well and neither at their physical peaks, this one could become a battle of wits.
JUAN MATA VS CESAR AZPILICUETA
A battle between two Spain internationals who find themselves potentially peripheral figures in Vincente Del Bosque’s plans with just four months to go until Euro 2016.
Both will be desperate to impress in such a high-profile fixture by outwitting each other on the flank, but this battle also sees Chelsea’s best defender in technical terms face Manchester United’s most talented technician going forward.
Mata’s lack of pace means Azpilicueta won’t have to worry too much about the space behind him, but ensuring the aforementioned John Terry is protected on the inside remains the 26-year-old’s biggest challenge. The Chelsea skipper is still one of the best centre-halves in the Premier League but can look rather ordinary when expert dribblers are running at him with the ball.
Of course, Mata will also be keen to impress against his former club, who sold him to the Red Devils in January 2014.
DIEGO COSTA VS CHRIS SMALLING
It remains to be seen where Diego Costa’s head is at right now, after Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo not-so-subtly hinted earlier this week that he’ll try to re-sign the Chelsea striker in the summer transfer window.
Nonetheless, Manchester United defender Chris Smalling will know what to expect from the Spain international; namely, an incredibly physical battle that blurs the line between fair and foul play.
Defensively, the Red Devils haven’t been great in recent months. But Smalling’s shown phenomenal progress individually this season, now one of the first names on the United team-sheet, and his Martin Keown-esque gangly, awkward yet athletic frame should give Costa a run for his money.
Perhaps the bigger test for the England international, who not too long ago received one of the most petulant double-bookings in Premier League history against Manchester City, will be keeping his cool against the Premier League’s premier wind-up merchant.
EDEN HAZARD VS MATTEO DARMIAN
Having impressed when coming off the bench against Watford in midweek, Eden Hazard looks fresh enough to start on Sunday and therefore seems set to be included in Guus Hiddink’s first Xi.
The Belgium international’s form has notoriously plummeted since he won last season’s PFA Player of the Year award but the last few appearances have suggested signs of recovery – a first goal of the campaign, albeit from the penalty spot, against MK Dons last Sunday, followed by a decent cameo performance at Vicarage Road.
With injury problems also seemingly behind him, we could see the Hazard of old turn up against Manchester United. But resident right-back Matteo Darmian is no easy customer and a typically defensively-assured Italian, averaging 3.3 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per match this term.
The 26-year-old will allow Hazard little space and use every trick in the Azzurri cheat book to nullify his obvious attacking threat. Likewise, a lack of match sharpness could cost the Chelsea talisman.
MANCHESTER UNITED VS JOHN OBI MIKEL
It may seem a laughable suggestion, considering most outside of Stamford Bridge don’t rate John Obi Mikel too highly. But if you want to claim all three points against Chelsea, it appears you must find a way of getting past the Nigerian international.
Suspiciously overlooked by Jose Mourinho, the Blues cult hero has become a near-permanence under Guus Hiddink, who is still waiting for his first defeat as Chelsea boss since taking the hot-seat in December.
In fact, the west Londoners have conceded less than a goal per game during Mikel’s last six inclusions in the starting line-up – a remarkable improvement upon their defensive form prior – which is in no small part due to the 28-year-old’s unsung role at the base of midfield, providing vital balance to a Chelsea side that just couldn’t get the formula right in the first half of the season.
So it may seem a simplistic note to end things on, but Mikel’s defensive protection has become immeasurably intrinsic to Hiddink’s Chelsea side. The fact of the matter is that nobody’s got the better of him yet, so United’s creative talents need to pull something special out of the bag.