MANCHESTER UNITED HEADED TO STANFORD BRIGE WITH AN AGENDA

     

         Manchester United is faced with a big one tonight! Well, to be completely honest, Manchester United fans must have had this very day bookmarked clearly in their calendar as one of the matches that simply can not be missed in any way. Who will not accept the opportunity to watch manager Jose Mourinho lead his Manchester United troops back into Jose Mourinho’s old stomping ground and pick up all three points this season? Manchester United have found themselves struggling in the early stages of this season. However, a victory or at least a point in this weekend's huge encounter against bitter rivals Chelsea is sure to add more fire to a recently rejuvenated Manchester United side.

     After returning from last weeks International break which extended into the weekend, which resulted in the imminent cancellation of any Premier League matches to be played, the most pressing concern Manchester United must have had was how many Manchester United players, if any, sustained injuries while on International duty? Big games deserve the presence of big game players in other to achieve any level of success in the match and players such as Romelu Lukaku, David De Gea, Nemanja Matic, Alexis Sanchez  and Paul Pogba, to name a few, must have on the Manchester United managers mind as players whom Mourinho hoped to avoid the injury list heading into this weekend's important match.

       Jose Mourinho had faced some serious criticism this season about the way the Manchester United manager is leading the club in recent times and what better way for Jose Mourinho to strengthen his relationship with the highly demanding Manchester United fan base than back to back victories for Manchester United two weeks in a row.

  If anyone asked anyone involved with Manchester United to paint the best scenario for Manchester United coming out of the teams next big match against fierce rivals Chelsea this weekend, the resulting answers will probably be a 2-1 result in favor of Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. A bit overzealous to be honest but too much confidence is one quality that has never been lost to Manchester United. But Manchester United have never been a club whose fan base settles for decent results. A victory at Stamford Bridge is expected by the Manchester United team but a victory against a strong Chelsea side who have started off this season in a bang. Six wins, two draws with 18 goals scored and only 5 goals conceded.

     New Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri certainly has his Chelsea team looking prime and ready to stake their claim for the Premier League trophy this season. How will Manchester United come out of this weekends game with a positive result? The better question will be: what type of result will Manchester United owners and Manchester United fans consider a positive result against Chelsea this weekend?  

   Let’s look at the facts, Chelsea appears to have transformed into an even stronger team under new manager Maurizio Sarri. The Blues have been playing some wonderful football under their new Italian manager. Currently occupying the 2^nd spot in the Barclays Premier League, The Blues have taken three victories and two draws out of the starting five games.  The club from south-west London has certainly kicked off their season in full force showing full intentions of heading all the way to claiming the right to be crowned Premier League champions at the end of the season.

   Judging by Chelsea`s impressive start to the season, the Blues have prepped themselves well enough and appear to be a very difficult team to beat and the strategy to securing three points or at least a point at Stanford Bridge has to include more than just a defensive blueprint for Manchester United. 

        Maybe a victory or a well-earned point this Saturday against Chelsea will finally at the moment when Manchester United finally appreciate Jose Mourinho`s defensive- counter-attacking plans enforced on the team. Chelsea at this point in the current season can possibly be said to be playing a rejuvenated style of football. Connecting their passes, following their managers' instructions to the tee and securing positive results. If both Manchester United and Chelsea were judges on their performance from the start of the season till this very point in the season, Chelsea will ultimately be the odds-on favorite to clinch all 3 points from the big match this Saturday.

      Statistically speaking, Attacking football wins football games in the Premier League without a doubt. However, the best effective plan for Manchester United against a strong opponent such as Chelsea might have to include %45 attacking football and %55 percent defensive football. The plan might not be the best idea the Manchester United fans will want to accept but using a blend of defensive strategy and moderate attacking might see Manchester United emerging out of a difficult Standford Bridge arena with a necessary point at the least.

         The Good news for Manchester United is that coming off the recent international break held on October the Red Devils will have even more additional reinforcement in the team. Unfortunately, the reinforcement to the will not be in the shape of a new signing, rather, the reinforcement to Manchester United's team in the wake of the match against Chelsea this Saturday will be the return of duo Ander Herrera and Marcus Rojo. While Hererra and Rojo return from injury will be seen as appealing news, no one will hardly expect to see either player added to the starting XI for this weekends game. All eyes will anticipate Jose Mourinho starting line up for this weekends battle at Stanford Bridge to include names of players such as Paul Pogba, Fred, Nemanja Matic in the midfield and the defensive duo of Chris Smalling and Eric Bailey tightening up the defense for Manchester United.

       The possible omission of the returning Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and a host of other Manchester United players from the starting line up will not imply that these players are not needed at the club, rather the names listed on the starting IX will magnify just how crucial Mourinho values the points to be had this Saturday at Stanford Bridge. Names on the starting lineup which will Manchester United fans with the hope that Manchester United will mostly out of Standford Bridge with at least a point or more this weekend be Anthony Martial, Eric Bailey, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Perera and Romelu Lukaku. Players that are more than likely to attack Chelsea than sit back and defend for the entire 90 minutes at Standford Bridge will really give the fans hope of a good result during this weekends match against Chelsea. 

        Will Jose Mourinho favor a slightly more attacking line than a complete defensive starting IX this weekend at Standford Bridge? Hard to say but the evidence of Jose Mourinho’s track record as Manchester United might suggest Manchester United might look to safeguard one point by using a defensive strategy rather than attacking Chelsea at Stanford Bridge and risk losing all three points this weekend. 


Judging from Jose Mourinho's history as Manchester United manager, One point gained, will always trump three points lost!