Chelsea hosting Manchester United has all the ingredients to be the biggest game of the weekend, and quite rightly so. Jose Mourinho returns to the Stamford Bridge for the first time since he was sacked midway last season by the Blues as a consequence of a dismal title defence. With a visit to the place where there would be no shortage of love and admiration for him despite being a Red now, the Portuguese will leave no stone unturned to dismantle Antonio Conte and his brigade.
Chelsea and Manchester United are steering their way to enact a right balance and ensure a fight to lift the prestigious league. The anticipation of a crunchy game between the two big boys of the Premier League has stocked up, ensuring that it won’t be a cakewalk for either side to bag even a sole point without. Despite the Red Devils’ comprehensive 4-1 win over Fenerbache in the Europa League, Chelsea seem reluctant to settle for anything less than three points as they must back themselves to win this hostile fixture owing to the following three reasons:
Conte’s System Has Started To Work
Antonio’s Conte’s tactics of employing three at the back is devastatingly lethal when the plan falls in place as chalked out. After a horrendous 3-0 loss to Arsenal, the West Londoners have followed up the humiliation with a couple of reinstalling and thumping wins against Hull City and Leicester City with the aforesaid tactical implementation. 3-0 win over the defending champions was a result of a meticulously planned process, with Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses producing stellar performances as the wingbacks. The Blues’ defence looks to be sorted; moreover, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa have found their form to keep the Manchester United defenders on their toes all the time. With due respect to Manchester United under Mourinho, Chelsea resemble a side a yard ahead of them at the moment.
Blues Are In the Mix
Mourinho threw his cards at Anfield for more than a point and that was evident with the way he worked out the tactics away from home. However, if the Red Devils open up at the Stamford Bridge, they are likely to be broken down far more than Liverpool could afford to do. They do not have the right mix yet and with a fragile and penetrable defence up against attacking artillery of the Blues that is in a fine touch, there seems to be only one winner at the onset.
No European Outing
Arsenal’s sluggishness and lack of energy in their goalless stalemate against newcomers Middlesbrough can largely be attributed to the Champions League fixture against Ludogorets. Manchester United used their main men more or less when they locked horns against Fenerbache in the midweek which implies that the factor of tiredness will definitely make a telling impact on the output of the game. Chelsea, with their fresh legs and high-flying level of confidence, can thus make a mark in this huge fixture.
