It will be an emotional afternoon for the Chelsea fans as well as Jose Mourinho as the ‘Special One’ makes his return to Stamford Bridge for the first time since being axed by the Blues in December last year. Mourinho has taken over Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Manchester United now and Antonio Conte has done a decent job so far in picking up the pieces. Still, Jose remains a popular figure among the Chelsea fans and him being in charge of the opposition at a ground that used to be a fortress under him, will be the intriguing factor of this game.
United will play their third game in less than a week while Chelsea will be all fresh for the game. Both sides have started life pretty decently under their respective new managers but things could have been better. Mourinho will be the limelight in this high-profile Super Sunday game while Antonio Conte will be the one who will be looking to make the headlines tomorrow.
Team news
Chelsea
Chelsea will make a late decision over whether to field Willian following the death of his mother while Oscar has also been away following the death of his grandfather. The two Brazilians being doubtful, paves the way for Pedro and Victor Moses to keep their respective places in the starting XI. Conte will not have Branislav Ivanovic (muscle) or Cesc Fabregas (thigh) available for the game while van Ginkel and Zouma (both knee) are also out.
Manchester United
Phil Jones is out for the visitors while both Morgan Schneiderlin and Chris Smalling are doubtful.
Predicted lineups
Chelsea (3-4-3)- Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Matic, Kante, Alonso; Pedro, Costa, Hazard.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1)- De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Shaw; Fellaini, Herrera; Mata, Pogba, Lingard; Ibrahimovic.
Key players
Chelsea- Diego Costa
Costa is pulling the strings for Chelsea on a weekly basis this season. The Spanish international is in the form of his life and will be looking to do the damage on the Red Devils. With seven goals and two assists to his name from nine games this season, Costa will be the one to watch out for in the game.
Manchester United- Marcus Rashford
Manchester United have struggled in scoring goals this season in the Premier League as Zlatan Ibrahimovic does not have his scoring boots on. Young forward Rashford will, therefore, have a big task in his hands to inflict damage to Chelsea’s struggling defence. His pace could be a big problem for Conte’s under-performing backline.
Odds
Chelsea win @28/25
Draw @49/20
Manchester United win @49/20
