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| ManU defenders in training yesterday (Courtesy:premierleague.com) |
Manchester United will have to produce their best performance of the campaign so far if they are to overcome Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea in Sunday's eagerly anticipated match at Old Trafford, according to former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.
United, under the guidance of new manager Louis van Gaal, have made a steady opening to the new campaign and have won three of their last five fixtures to boost their chances of returning to the top four. But at the weekend they will come up against a side that has made a superb start to the season, dropping only two points from their opening eight matches to lead second-placed Manchester City by five points.
United, under the guidance of new manager Louis van Gaal, have made a steady opening to the new campaign and have won three of their last five fixtures to boost their chances of returning to the top four. But at the weekend they will come up against a side that has made a superb start to the season, dropping only two points from their opening eight matches to lead second-placed Manchester City by five points.
"But they are capable because they have got some special players, like Angel Di Maria, Juan Mata, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao, and they are capable of producing some fantastic moments. If they can defend well as team, and those players can be on top form, then Chelsea will have problems as well."Manchester United are going to have to play at their absolute maximum and at a level they haven’t played at so far this season if they are going to win," Neville, who won eight BPL titles at Man Utd, told premierleague.com after opening a new £980,000 pavilion in Horwich, Greater Manchester, that was built with funding from the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund.
"The interesting thing will be to see how Jose Mourinho approaches the game. Whether they'll play like they did at Manchester City, where they allowed City to come on to them and then counter-attacked. Or will he think, 'no we are better than Man Utd, we are going to go out and play an expansive game'?
PLAYER PROFILE
United must make do without the suspended Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick, who remains short of match fitness with an ankle injury, while Chelsea's Loic Remy is ruled out after picking up a groin injury in Chelsea's 6-0 rout of Maribor in the UEFA Champions League and leading scorer Diego Costa is rated by his manager Jose Mourinho as having "a little chance" of playing after hamstring and virus problems.
But whoever makes the starting line-up for Chelsea, Neville knows United's defence will have to be on their mettle to thwart the west Londoners. If they are, Neville believes Van Gaal's side can emerge triumphant.
Gary Neville, who is an Ambassador for the Football Foundation, was speaking at the opening of a £978,807 state-of-the-art changing pavilion at Scholes Bank Playing Fields, Horwich. The new facility is set to benefit 500 local young players and was made possible thanks to a £738,807 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which provides grants towards developing new or refurbished grassroots football facilities."If Diego Costa and Loic Remy do not play, that’s a big boost for United," he said. "United have been indifferent at the back this season, they have had lots of injuries, they have got a young back four, and it will be interesting to see how they handle Chelsea's attack.
"The atmosphere at Old Trafford will be fantastic. If they can get the crowd behind them, United is the type of place where this fantastic Chelsea team could come unstuck."
The Chelsea encounter starts a daunting run of fixtures for Man Utd, with trips to Manchester City, Arsenal, Southampton and a home fixture against Liverpool looming on the horizon.
"We are going to find out about United in this next period," Neville added. "The fixtures that they have had so far were the lesser teams and it's been a struggle at times. It's been difficult away from home for them this season. They should be doing a lot better but they are a new team, with a new manager, it takes time."
For press conference quotes from Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, click here >>
Manchester United (from): Amos, De Gea, Johnstone, Lindegaard, Blackett, Blind, Jones, Rafael, Rojo, Shaw, Smalling, Vermijl, Anderson, Di Maria, Fellaini, Fletcher, Herrera, James, Januzaj, Mata, Young, Falcao, W Keane, Van Persie, Wilson.
Chelsea (from): Cech, Courtois, Schwarzer, Ake, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Christensen, Filipe, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma, Fabregas, Hazard, Matic, Mikel, Oscar, Ramires, Salah, Willian, Costa, Drogba, Schurrle.
Manchester United (from): Amos, De Gea, Johnstone, Lindegaard, Blackett, Blind, Jones, Rafael, Rojo, Shaw, Smalling, Vermijl, Anderson, Di Maria, Fellaini, Fletcher, Herrera, James, Januzaj, Mata, Young, Falcao, W Keane, Van Persie, Wilson.
Chelsea (from): Cech, Courtois, Schwarzer, Ake, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Christensen, Filipe, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma, Fabregas, Hazard, Matic, Mikel, Oscar, Ramires, Salah, Willian, Costa, Drogba, Schurrle.
