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A 1-2 would do

Decider of the season? Certainly not. But in terms of points difference and psychological advantage, this would be the most crucial match for months. Clearly, I would take a Chelsea win against Man Utd in the premiership than a Chelsea win against Barca in the Champions League group stage. I dont want to see Man Utd let off the hook. I know they can be very inconsistent but why to leave things for chance when you knock them off in Old Trafford.

After a customary round of pre-match media tricks where Ronaldo had said Sheva and Ballack have not improved Chelsea, he also had to deny these later. As a response to these comments, Lampard said:

I don’t take any notice of things like that. It is part and parcel of big games. Comments do get blown up and the headlines are probably more drastic that the comments themselves. We have got nothing to prove, and nothing to speak about before the game. With players the calibre of Ballack and Shevchenko and what they have done for us so far and what they have done throughout their careers, they talk on the pitch. They will do that again.

I’m sure both Chelsea and Man Utd dont want to lose this match. Neither teams will go for the kill and try to score at the risk of conceding. I’m sure it won’t be a boring draw. But there is a high chance of this ending in a 0-0 draw, although interesting.

I’m not sure if Drogba, Ballack and Kalou are fit. I assume, they are all fit and ready to join the party. I would expect Cudicini to start for this cracker. Ashley has been consistent for us in the last few matches while Geremi has made the right back position, his own. It should be Ricardo to team up with Terry in the middle. The midfield once again, should comprise of Maka in his holding midfielder spot. Considering that we dont want to lose this match, I dont think there is any doubt about Essien, Lamps and Ballack taking the other three places in the midfield. I fancy Sheva and Drogba to score, assisted by each other.

I hope Geremi keeps Ronaldo down as I see only Ronaldo as a major threat to our goal. May be Essien will also join him in co-marking Ronaldo. Handling Ronaldo is vey key because he can make or break their day. That’s what I inferred from the Adebayor goal. When Ronaldo hsa the ball, the whole of Man Utd becomes attack-minded and when you rob the ball from him, you have a great chance for counter-attack. I expect Rooney/Saha to struggle against our back four.

Man Utd have got quite a few goals from as close as six yard box from crosses from the left in this season. This should be an area for us to work on. The crucial goals that we have conceded this season are all from our opposition’s left wing too – Viduka winner, Gudjohnsen’s lead, Lennon’s winner, Agbonlahor’s header have all come from the left. But with Geremi in, and showing good touch, I hope this jinx is broken for us.

As regards their back four, I’m not a big fan of their defensive capabilities. None of them have that physical presence to calm down Drogba or Ballack. Though the midfield is somewhat evenly matched, we have the edge over them in terms of quality. I could see Scholes fouling Essien and being carded, may be twice.

Okay, here’s some inspiration ahead of this match:

A win can put us on top alongside Man Utd and hopefully we won’t drop points for quite a long time. A loss will mean that we have wait for Man Utd to lose their consistency and lose some cheap points, have some key players unavailable due to injuries or suspenions etc. Basically, we need to play very well and also expect some favours from the rivals. Do remember that we can give all for this match whereas Man Utd have their European decider against Benfica next week.

In the opinion poll conducted in this blog, out of 169 votes, 70% expect Chelsea to win, 21% expect Man Utd to win and the rest 9% expect a draw. You know what I voted for.

My prediction: (Scholes) 1-2 (Sheva, Drogba)

[tags] Chelsea, Manchester United, Man United, Man Utd, Lampard, Ballack, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Sheva, Drogba, Saha, Rooney, Old Trafford [/tags]