EPL PREVIEW: Chelsea vs. Manchester United

Hey everyone!
So, tomorrow looks to be pretty much the most exciting day of the Premier League in terms of match-ups. I know I've been waiting for this for quite a few weeks now, and I'm definitely stoked to watch some quality soccer tomorrow morning.

First up is Liverpool playing Tottenham at White Hart Lane, which I'm definitely going to watch even though I'm not a large supporter of either team. In my opinion, the fourth spot in the EPL at the end of the season will go to either Liverpool or Tottenham (my guess is Liverpool), with the other team taking fifth. This will be a very important game for both teams, which could be a deciding factor in a close race for a fourth-place Champion's League spot. I've also taken a look at the betting line, and it's pretty interesting - Both teams have been given the exact same odds to win. While I would make a prediction of Liverpool taking the three points tomorrow, Tottenham does have the home team advantage, and Liverpool seem to be missing (or are doubtful about) a few key players: Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, and Martin Skrtel. If none of them show up for tomorrow's match, then Liverpool could have a spot of defensive trouble. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this one plays out.
OFFICIAL MATCH TIME: 8:30 AM, EST, on Sunday, September 18, 2011. 

Now then, on to the match that we've all been waiting for: Chelsea vs. Manchester United; Goliath vs. Goliath. These two Premier League giants are always slated to deliver great performances, and I'm sure that tomorrow will be no exception. Right. Now onto the player matchup. Because this is such a huge match, I'll be going into detail about the Manchester United line as well. Here we go:

MANCHESTER UNITED:
FORWARDS: So no surprise here, it will most likely be Wayne Rooney (on excellent form, by the way, scoring eight goals and getting one assist in four matches for his club) and Chicharito (Javier Hernandez) composing the attacking force, due to Danny Welbeck being forced out with a hamstring injury after Manchester United's 8-2 win over Arsenal's youth-academy-turned-starting-eleven (which included a player that had never even participated in a Premier League match before). Sir Alex will most likely work in a 4-4-2 formation.
MIDFIELDERS: With Tom Cleverley out with an injury (very unfortunate for Manchester United - he's an excellent player who's quickly turning into one of my favourites at the moment), United will most likely go with a midfield of Nani, Fletcher (replacement for Cleverley), Anderson, and Ashley Young.
DEFENDERS: Vidic is out due to injury, along with Rafael. This could be a big problem for United defensively, with their captain (Vidic) on the sidelines, they will most likely go to Phil Jones as a replacement. Chris Smalling is likely to start at RB, paired with Rio Ferdinand, who is returning from an injury. Patrice Evra is likely to start at LB.
GOALKEEPER: David de Gea will be starting for Manchester United. While I'm he'll eventually grow into his role, at the moment he seems to be a bit shaky. However, we do have to keep in mind that it's very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very hard to replace the likes of Edwin van der Sar in net.

CHELSEA:

FORWARDS: With Drogba still injured, André Villas-Boas is likely to go with his usual 4-3-3 formation, with Mata on the left, and Torres in the centre. I believe that the right-winger position will (and should) go to Daniel Sturridge. He's greatly impressed AVB (and myself) in his few games for the club, and personally I would love to see him in a regular starting position (provided he keeps on form). 

MIDFIELDERS: I'm sure that new signing Raul Meireles will feature tomorrow, coming off a good performance in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen. During that game, with the omission of captain Terry and vice-captain Lampard in the starting eleven, they were both given a message that they couldn't ignore (and this is something that AVB has been saying for a while): If your form is off, you'll be benched. It makes absolutely no difference of your wages, or your position in the club. I think that they both got the message, and will both feature in tomorrow's match. But tomorrow, they'll play their hearts out, because they know that if they don't, there are a number of sidelined players itching to grab their spots. The midfield line will most likely feature Lampard in the centre, with Ramires on the right and Meireles on the left. 

DEFENDERS: As I previously mentioned, John Terry must have received the clear message that his form must improve, and tomorrow's match is the perfect place to reclaim his spot in the starting eleven. With David Luiz coming off a brilliant start in Tuesday's Champions League match, he'll most likely play tomorrow, alongside Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic on the wings. 

GOALKEEPER: Petr Cech looks to be completely cured of his injury and will start tomorrow's match.

PROBABLE MATCH LINEUPS:

                                     De Gea

Smalling ------- Ferdinand ----------- Jones ----------- Evra

Nani ----------- Anderson ----------- Fletcher ----------- Young

                        Rooney ----------- Chicharito

_______________________________________________


                 Mata ----------- Torres ----------- Sturridge

           Meireles ---------- Lampard --------- Ramires

        Cole ----------- Terry ----------- Luiz --------- Ivanovic

                                      Cech

MANCHESTER UNITED BENCH: Kuszczak, Evans, Fábio, Park, Giggs, Carrick, Berbatov
CHELSEA BENCH: Hilário, Bosingwa, Alex, Josh McEachran, Florent Malouda, Romelu Lukaku, Nicolas Anelka

OFFICIAL MATCH TIME: 11:00 AM, EST, on Sunday, September 18, 2011. 


While I'm not sure who's going to win tomorrow, the one thing I know for sure is that it will be a great game. I'll be watching, wearing my numerous items of Chelsea attire, waving my scarf, and hollering at my TV while everyone else in my house ponders about whether or not to send me away to a nuthouse.
Have a great Sunday (and it will be great, I'm sure)!

~Matt

P.S. I just found out that David Hoilett, who has the third-most assists in the Premier League so far (granted, it has only been about 5 matches), is CANADIAN! Represent.