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On Sunday, fans of the English Premier League will witness one of the early showdowns - the country's champion "Man Utd" will clash with London's "Chelsea" in Manchester.
We present the match preview by BBC expert Jonathan Pearce.
"Man Utd" - "Chelsea"
Venue: "Old Trafford" stadium, Manchester
Referee: Phil Dowd
Kick-off: 18:00 (Lithuanian time)
Team news:
Hosts will be missing their injured quartet: defenders Nemanja Vidic, Rafael, midfielder Tom Cleverley, and forward Danny Welbeck.
However, the starting lineup should feature Rio Ferdinand, who missed the match against "Benfica" in Lisbon.
"Chelsea" will be without Didier Drogba, who has not recovered from a serious head injury yet. John Terry and Frank Lampard will be able to take the field.
Preview:
Do not think that these early season matches lack excitement just because they are not decisive.
Many experts predict that this season, the title contenders for the Premier League will be two teams: "Man Utd" and "Man City". However, it is doubtful that Sir Alex Ferguson with his vast experience would easily believe that. He knows that "Chelsea's" experience allows the London team to be among the favorites, but a defeat in Manchester would be an unpleasant blow.
The English champions are already showing ambition: 18 goals in the last four matches is a new league record. Wayne Rooney has already scored eight goals - more than any other team in the country, except "Man City"! If the striker manages to score on Sunday, it would be the best result in "Man Utd" history.
However, Rooney is not the only threat. "Chelsea" fans probably do not want to see Javier Hernandez on the field, who last season scored three times against the London team's goalkeeper. Among them - a goal in the first minute of the match at "Old Trafford," disrupting all of "Chelsea's" game plan.
"Man Utd" scored the first goal in six of the last seven home matches. If this happens again, "Chelsea" is unlikely to recover, I think.
Yet, the 'Blues' are not to be underestimated. Newcomers Juan Mata and Raul Meireles demonstrate solid football and have only lost two points.
But the biggest concern is Fernando Torres. If the Spaniard returns to 2008 when he humiliated Nemanja Vidic at "Old Trafford" and helped "Liverpool" celebrate an impressive 4-1 victory, "Man Utd" fans should be worried.
However, the reality is much darker - although in the last Champions League match Torres made two assists and received praise for his hard work, having scored only one goal in 23 matches does not live up to the high-class striker's name.
"Man Utd" is currently too strong, and "Chelsea" has too many unanswered questions. I think the hosts will win.
Facts:
In the Premier League, "Chelsea" celebrated 13 victories in 38 matches against "Man Utd" - 11. In total, this will be the 162nd club encounter - the Manchester team won 70, opponents - 44.
But the London team has not conceded a single goal in 16 visits to the "Old Trafford" stadium.
"Man Utd" with 18 goals in the first four matches achieved the best result since the 1947-1948 season.
This season in the Premier League, a total of 94 goals were scored. 35% of them (33) were scored by "Man Utd" and "Man City".
Roooney has already scored eight goals - last season he reached this number only on April 2nd.
"Man Utd" scored at least one goal in 32 home matches, of which they won 30 and lost only once. The only defeat was to the "Chelsea" club in April 2010.
Over the last eight matches in the Premier League, "Chelsea" has not conceded a single goal except once.
