Manchester United and Chelsea have both dominated the Premier League in the past. The glory days for United under Sir Alex Ferguson, winning title after title as the gleeful fans chant “Attack Attack Attack” to their more than capable team. Chelsea just recently claimed another Premier League trophy, as they occupied the top spot for the entire season, functionally, precisely and expertly sweeping teams aside as they stormed towards the league title.
Yet now, these two teams have disappeared. The dreaded sting of the United attack has been replaced by a more possession based and at times toothless approach much to the disdain of the Old Trafford supporters. Chelsea have gone from the Champions, to the bottom half of the table. The blues are now without their talismanic manager Jose Mourinho and struggling in the league having already been beaten more times than they were all season last year. The fans of both sides are disgruntled with their teams, and it looks very likely that after this game that one side will be feel even less happy with their side.
Will Chelsea respond?
Guus Hiddink has been given the task of reviving Chelsea’s horrible first half of the season. The Dutch manager has been brought in before, coming in on an interim basis following the sacking of Felipe Scolari in 2009. Hiddink can proudly say that during his short spell at the club he guided them to an FA Cup victory and was only knocked out of the Champions League controversially by Barcelona.
Hiddink certainly had a positive impact on Chelsea in the 2-2 draw against Watford. Despite not winning the game, Chelsea did look a lot stronger than they have been so far this season, and Diego Costa bagged two goals to earn the draw. Costa, along with Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas came under strong scrutiny from their own support as the fans clearly believe the players would not perform for Mourinho. It will take more than one game to win back the support of the fans, but for Costa it was a strong start.
Will United bounce back?
Louis Van Gaal’s side have not won in over a month and are reeling after four straight defeats. Many have criticised the Dutchman’s tactics since he arrived at Old Trafford, stating that his possession based football is not the United of old. The fans have been used to aggressive attacking play with a strong emphasis on using the flanks, a system that proved to be incredibly effective.
Van Gaal now boasts a win percentage of 50%, 2% less than David Moyes. The Scottish manager was seen as a weak manager and was only given 51 games in charge of United. Now Moyes has a better record than his Dutch replacement.
A shocking stat for Van Gaal is that his side have only averaged 1.53 goals per game, once again Moyes has a better record in this respect too since at United he averaged a 1.69 goal per game ratio.
However, if Van Gaal can gain a victory against a team the size of Chelsea, and with a convincing performance, perhaps the fans will come back to his side.
Will the stars shine?
Wayne Rooney and Memphis Depay are often touted as major attacking threats. Yet neither of them are performing for United this season. The skipper has only managed two goals in the league so far this year adding to Louis Van Gaal’s goal shy record.
Depay arrived in Manchester after scoring 22 goals for PSV last year, and the 21-year old was seen as one of the hottest prospects in European football. Yet the famous Manchester United number 7 shirt seems to have taken its toll on the Dutch international. Instead of living up to the expectations that come with the shirt, Depay has disappointed. He too has only scored twice in the league, and was recently dropped from the team by his manager.
Last year Eden Hazard was the player of the year, the young Belgian lit up the league with dazzling displays of creative flair. Now a shadow of his former self, he too has been dropped from the side this year. He ended last season with an impressive 49 goals so far in his Chelsea career, he is still on 49 goals for Chelsea, not a single goal from the 24-year old this season is very worrying. Hiddink will need to find a way to get Hazard back in form.
One star who may not be there in person, but the fans will make his presence known is Jose Mourinho. The Chelsea fans will surely be chanting his name, and the United fans may be too. If United lose this game, Mourinho may find himself a wanted man by many in Manchester.
