Man Utd v Chelsea

Who do you think will be victorious?

Ruud van Nistelrooy will lead the line for Manchester United against the champions now he is fully recovered from an ankle problem.

Gary Neville returns from suspension and Roy Keane, Rooney_79586.shtml'>Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes are all expected to start.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho may juggle his options after securing the title.

It is expected that Carlo Cudicini will continue in goal and Petr Cech may be joined on the sidelines by a host of first-team regulars in need of a rest.

If Frank Lampard starts at Old Trafford it will extend his unbroken run of Premiership appearances to 145 games.

It is a record for an outfield player and he is bearing down on the all-time mark of 159 set by goalkeeper David James when he was at Liverpool.

Like their inspirational midfielder, Chelsea are chasing records as well.

One more win and they will better Manchester United's mark of 28 wins in a 38-game season, while two more points will see them eclipse United's all-time Premiership record haul of 92 - which was set in a 42-match season in 1993-94.

In defence, they must let in less than three goals at Old Trafford and against Newcastle at St James' Park on Sunday to beat Arsenal's record of 17 goals conceded, the fewest in a Premiership campaign.



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Man Utd (from): Howard, Carroll, G Neville, P Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre, O'Shea, Fletcher, Fortune, Ronaldo, Kleberson, Keane, Scholes, Giggs, Miller, Van Nistelrooy, Smith, Rooney, Saha, Bellion.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Makelele, Terry, Johnson, Gallas, Carvalho, Robben, Gudjohnsen, Drogba, Smertin, Tiago, Lampard, Cole, Forssell, Kezman, Jarosik, Geremi, Huth, Duff.




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BIG-MATCH FACTS


Manchester United wrap up their home programme against champions Chelsea, and are looking to avenge the defeat they suffered in their opening match of this Premiership campaign, when Eidur Gudjohnsen netted the only goal in an uncompromising clash on 15 August at Stamford Bridge.

Should the Red Devils fail to win, runners-up spot will become a mathematical certainly for Arsenal and mean the FA Cup finalists will have to be content with a third place finish for the third time in four seasons and second in a row. Sir Alex Ferguson's club, who will have to play a qualifying round to gain entry to next season's group stages of the Champions League, will be keen to avoid defeat and thus end the League season unbeaten at home. Chelsea are the only other Premiership club who can boast a similar feat.

United are aiming for a first win in four Premiership contests with the Londoners. They've lost only once in seven League exchanges at the Theatre of Dreams - the reverse being 0-3 on 1 December 2001.

Chelsea may have already been presented with the Barclays Premiership trophy, but they continue to chase records. In addition to those mentioned above, they go to Old Trafford looking to break the Premiership record for successive away wins. If they can achieve maximum points, it would be the Londoners' ninth consecutive win on the road.

Saturday's 1-0 home victory over Charlton was Chelsea's 25th clean sheet and set a new Premiership record. Jose Mourinho's men could extend it here, taking them further ahead of Manchester United's previous best mark of 24 set in the 1994/95 season when 42 games were played.

This will be the fourth time these clubs have met this season. In addition to starting their League campaign on a winning note, Chelsea held Manchester United to a goalless draw at home in the Carling Cup semi-final first leg, and then won the second leg 1-2 at Old Trafford with goals from Frank Lampard and Damien Duff. The newly crowned champions are chasing a second Premiership 'double' over United, and a seventh against them since League hostilities began in 1905.


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Referee:

Graham Poll (Tring)


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SEQUENCES/RECENT FORM

Manchester United


Club stats
Fixtures
3rd 74 points
Highest achievable at full time: 3rd
Lowest could fall: 3rd

Unbeaten in three.
Won two and drawn one - all Premiership - since losing 1-0 at Everton on 20 April.
Played more League and Cup games this season than any other club (5.
Won 21 Premiership matches. Only Chelsea (2 and Arsenal (24) have won more.
Lost four times in the top division (all four away, to Chelsea, Portsmouth, Norwich and Everton). Only Chelsea have been beaten less often (once).
Conceded 22 top flight goals. Only Chelsea have shipped fewer - 13.
Shipped eight of the 22 in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Kept 19 clean sheets at the top League level. Only Chelsea have managed more (25).
Not lost a top flight game this season in which they've opened the scoring. Won 19 and drawn three of the 22.
Conceded the opening goal eight times. Only Chelsea (four games) and Arsenal (six) have allowed their opponents to score first less often.
Their 36 League games have yielded 77 goals (55 for, 22 against). Only Blackburn have a lower such tally (75).

One of two clubs with an unbeaten home Premiership record. Chelsea is the other.
Won 12 home top League games. Only Chelsea can beat that with 14.
Managed 10 clean sheets in home top flight games.
Undefeated in 19 home Premiership outings.
Last lost a League match at the Theatre of Dreams on 24 April 2004 (0-1 against Liverpool) - United's only defeat in 24 home top flight outings.
Chelsea


Club stats
Fixtures
1st 91 points
Highest achievable on full time: 14 points clear
Lowest could fall: Remain 11 points clear

Lost one of the last six, and two of the last 15 in all competitions.
Already exceeded the clubs highest points total in a Premiership season of 79 last year, and there are still two matches to play.
Dropped 17 points from seven drawn games and one defeat. The least points dropped in a Premiership season was 23 by Manchester United in 1999/2000 when crowned champions with 91 points.
Lost only one of 36 games in the highest echelon this season - no club can match that.
On the season's best and longest current unbeaten run in the Premiership of 27 matches.
Won 22 and drawn five (71 points from a possible 81) since losing 1-0, away to Manchester City, on 16 October.
Aiming for a 29th Premiership maximum this season.
The record of victories in a Premiership season is 28, accrued in the title winning season of 1999/2000 by Manchester United.
Second only to Arsenal in the goal scoring stakes this season. Chelsea have netted 68 times in the Premiership, the Gunners 79.
Conceded just 13 times in the highest League, that's an average of one every 249 minutes (four hours nine minutes).
The Premiership's record for "fewest goals against" is 17 by Arsenal when runners-up in 1998/99.
Managed 34 clean sheets from their 57 League and Cup games this term.
Kept more clean sheets in this Premiership campaign than any other club (25). Won 21 and drawn four of the 25.
Set a new record for the highest number of clean sheets in the Premiership, eclipsing Manchester United's 24 in 1994/95. But cannot beat Liverpool's record of 28 in 1978/79 for most shut-outs in an English top flight season.
Failed to score in five Premiership matches. Only Arsenal have fired blanks less often (three).
Scored first in 28 matches at the highest level (won 27, drawn one). Arsenal have opening the scoring in 29 top flight games.
Conceded the opening goal in only four of 36 League games - fewer than any other Premiership club. Of that quartet, one match was won, two drawn and one lost.
Scored 18 times in the last 15 minutes of Premiership games this season - no club can match that.
Recorded the longest winning sequence in the Premiership this season (eight matches).
Achieved 11 'doubles' so far in this top tier campaign.
Holding the best disciplinary record in the top tier (no red cards, 46 yellow).
Second in the Premiership's "Last Six Current Form" table with 14 points out of the 18. Arsenal lead the way with 16 points.

Won the last eight on their Premiership travels, keeping clean sheets in six of them.
Victory here would increase the club top flight record of successive away victories in a single top flight season.
Gained 44 points on the road - more than other Premiership club.
Won 14 away League games in the top flight - two more than the next nearest Arsenal.
Lost only one League game away from home (at Manchester City).
Kept 11 clean sheets on their League travels, and failed to score in only two of the 17 engagements (at Aston Villa 0-0, and Manchester City 1-0).


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KEY PLAYER NOTES/POTENTIAL MILESTONES

Manchester United


Squad profiles

Rooney_79586.shtml'>Wayne Rooney remains United's top scorer with 17 goals, 11 of which were in the Premiership.
Chelsea


Squad profiles

Mikael FORSSELL needs to score one goal to total 50 for English clubs (Birmingham, Crystal Palace and Chelsea).
Frank LAMPARD needs a brace to total 50 for Chelsea.
If he plays, LAMPARD will be making his 150th Premiership appearance for Chelsea, and 145th in succession.
If he lines-up for the kick off, Glen JOHNSON will be making his 50th start for Chelsea.
If he plays, Cardoso TIAGO will be making his 50th appearance for the Blues.


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LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME:
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea
8 May 2004 - Ref: Steve Bennett
Man United scorer: van Nistelrooy 77
Chelsea scorer: Gronkjaer 19
Sent Off: Huth (Chelsea) 73



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THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE:
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
15 August 2005 - Ref: Graham Poll
Chelsea scorer: Gudjohnsen 15



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HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS
League: Man United 53 wins, Chelsea 34, Draws 38
Prem: Man United 7 wins, Chelsea 7, Draws 11


HEAD TO HEAD at Man United
League: Man United 24 wins, Chelsea 16, Draws 22
Prem: Man United 3 wins, Chelsea 3, Draws 6