[JTW95]

They are going to have a much better game plan against us than City did. Be interesting to see what Mourinho does to handle Fellaini.

 

[Adisa]

Don't think there's much Mou can do to stop Fellaini winning the long balls. It's either Chelsea press very High so Fellaini has to play deep or he makes sure they win the second balls. Playing a high line was ll be risky if he pairs Terry and Cahill.

 

[Brightonian]

They are going to have a much better game plan against us than City did. Be interesting to see what Mourinho does to handle Fellaini.

I expect he'll neutralise him by doing what he always does against possession teams: sitting deep and absorbing pressure without conceding chances. Fellaini's jobs in this team - being part of the triangle with Blind and Young down the left flank, and finding space in and around the box to receive crosses, long passes and chips - both rely on our football being dynamic. Even he can't be dangerous if he's standing still and being marked by a defender who's standing still. It's the movement of the play on the pitch that lets him pull away from his defenders to get the room for those nod-downs and chest controls.

Mourinho will try and make it so that he's just standing in the box waiting for a hopeful chipped pass while the likes of Mata, Herrera and Rooney pass it fruitlessly back and forth in front of Chelsea's defensive line. Cahill/Zouma and Terry would be able to handle him in a static situation like that.

But having the more direct Fellaini option will still help us avoid the big pitfall of playing against Mourinho, which is that you push higher and higher up the pitch, increasingly dominating possession and territory, and thinking as a result that you're doing better and better in the game, whereas in fact you're just making yourself more and more vulnerable to the inevitable counter-attack. (Textbook example being, of course, their 2-0 win against Liverpool last season..) That works best on teams who insist on tippy-tapping it through to the goal. At least if we have the option of chipping it towards Fellaini - successfully or not - there's less risk of getting stuck in a rut, hypnotised by our own passing, like 'Pool did.

 

[LitterBug]

Don't think there's much Mou can do to stop Fellaini winning the long balls. It's either Chelsea press very High so Fellaini has to play deep or he makes sure they win the second balls. Playing a high line was ll be risky if he pairs Terry and Cahill.

I would expect hom to stick Matic on him and I expect he'll have more effect than Toure, however if Matic is preoccupied it will give us more room to move the ball around. I sense that he'll play Zouma too in a highly defensive 4-2-3-1

 

[Red Dreams]

Maurinho will be happy with a draw....thats why we must not play into his hands by pressing too much.

 

[Macern]

We'll get a draw or a win if we can keep composed in the defense I think. We're looking better than Chelsea at the moment and our confidence just keeps growing.

Fellaini will be a key player. They have no-one to stop him.

 

[Pow]

We'll get a draw or a win if we can keep composed in the defense I think. We're looking better than Chelsea at the moment and our confidence just keeps growing.

Fellaini will be a key player. They have no-one to stop him.

We have more than enough to stop him, we have Ivan Williian matic on that side, and if need be zouma, you lot should be more worried about picking hazard if carrick is missing.

 

[ChaddyP]

We will fecking murder the dirty chav Bastards 1-3 to us

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Same lineup as usual, let's go.

 

[RedStarUnited]

Most of you are over rating Chelsea defensively. They are really there for the taking.

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

If we beat these then I'm going to be so annoying. We'd have the best head to head against the top teams in the table and probably wouldn't win the league.

 

[Theafonis]

Im anything but cocky, but I am always confident with Jose against the big teams, and especially against United.

Plus you are in a good run of form and I always prefer to face sides when they have won a lot on the trot as all runs come to an end, and we have been poor.

Itll be like the games last season where you have all the play, we win 2-0.

Is this some sort of anti jinx?

I still remember you said we'll beat Aston Villa 5-0 last season but we ended up collapsing and had two sent off

 

[prarek]

Maurinho will be happy with a draw....thats why we must not play into his hands by pressing too much.

Yeah they'll be happy to sit back and take advantage of our mistakes.

 

[okLaptop1]

I see us losing 2-1. Mourinho love himself big games, and he'll set his team accordingly.

 

[mazhar13]

Also the way we play is pretty much anathema to City. It's very continental and they've never done well against similar styles in Europe. Very interested to see how we approach the Chelsea game because they are the true test

In terms of our approach to the Chelsea match, I reckon it'll be the same as usual except with a few tactical tweaks in order to exploit Chelsea's weaknesses. Chelsea, however, will try to do what Man. City did against us and try to get the early goal. If they do get the early goal, they'll park the bus. If they don't get the early goal, they'll park the bus. Basically, they'll try to play a high-intensity, energetic game early on to unsettle us, and if we settle, then they'll sit back and try to invite us forward, exploiting the spaces we'll leave when pushing up.

In this game, our central defenders will be very, very important. Chelsea will bring back just about everyone to stop us, and they'll normally leave the striker as the lone player up front. We need to make sure that the forward ball from Chelsea is quickly intercepted/stopped so that we can sustain our pressure/organise ourselves. Our back 3 (back 2 + defensive midfielder) will need to make sure that the first balls forward from Chelsea are quickly intercepted or sent out of play.

Going forward, we'll need to get behind their midfield and take on their defenders, who've struggled to deal with opponents taking them on at all levels. Matic and Ramires/Fabregas have tended to push up quite aggressively too early in recent matches, so we can easily get behind their midfield if we can maintain possession under pressure and play the ball past their midfield line. Terry and Cahill have been exposed quite often by teams who played the ball beyond their midfield, and that's what we need to do, whether that be through a pass to Fellaini, Mata/Herrera combination, etc.

Their full backs have also struggled recently in 1-on-1 situations, particularly Azpilicueta. It's a bummer that Mata isn't that great at taking on players; otherwise, we could really run Azpi ragged. Filipe Luis is better in 1-on-1's, but he doesn't have a good enough awareness, so Mata's movement can definitely cause Luis problems whilst Azpi can deal with them better. I'd love to have di Maria take on Azpi, but since Mata's been so good, I can't see van Gaal taking out Mata for di Maria. Against Ivanovic, Young can definitely have a good match. Ivanovic defends aggressively like Zabaleta does, and he's struggled recently against players who've taken him on. Young can definitely cause Ivanovic problems if Ivanovic isn't having a great game; otherwise, I see Ivanovic nullifying Young, so Fellaini will be crucial in occupying the left hand side, giving some more space to Young and Blind.

What's crucial here is that we need to sustain the early pressure that Chelsea will put on us. Fail to do that, and we'd be likely to lose as Chelsea will be very tough to beat as they'll be up for it against us. If we can sustain their early pressure, however, and not concede the early goal, then we can definitely have a chance, even if Chelsea park the bus, as our team has good movement in them to drag around Chelsea's midfielders and full backs. This current Chelsea isn't as solid and disciplined as the Chelsea from the first half of the season, so we can definitely score a goal or two here.

TL;DR: Key points for both Chelsea and Man. Utd.
Chelsea:

• Press and hassle Man. Utd. early on. Get the early goal, and then shut up shop and play on the counter.
• If they can't get the early goal, shut up shop and look to counter Man. Utd.
• Break against Man. Utd. with speed and aggression.
• Protect the defence all the time, every time.
• If Chelsea can't score, they must play for the draw.

Man. Utd.:

• Sustain the early pressure. Do not be sloppy in possession.
• Play the ball past the midfield and take on Chelsea's defenders at every opportunity.
  • Isolate Chelsea's full backs and defenders and take them on.
  • Exploit the Chelsea midfield's aggressive tendencies and get the ball into space to exploit their defensive weaknesses.
• The defence must be up for it to win the ball quickly/slow them down and prevent Chelsea from stretching us.

TL;DR is TL;DR: Play like we did against them at Old Trafford and not concede

 

[Sweet Square]

In terms of our approach to the Chelsea match, I reckon it'll be the same as usual except with a few tactical tweaks in order to exploit Chelsea's weaknesses. Chelsea, however, will try to do what Man. City did against us and try to get the early goal. If they do get the early goal, they'll park the bus. If they don't get the early goal, they'll park the bus. Basically, they'll try to play a high-intensity, energetic game early on to unsettle us, and if we settle, then they'll sit back and try to invite us forward, exploiting the spaces we'll leave when pushing up.

In this game, our central defenders will be very, very important. Chelsea will bring back just about everyone to stop us, and they'll normally leave the striker as the lone player up front. We need to make sure that the forward ball from Chelsea is quickly intercepted/stopped so that we can sustain our pressure/organise ourselves. Our back 3 (back 2 + defensive midfielder) will need to make sure that the first balls forward from Chelsea are quickly intercepted or sent out of play.

Going forward, we'll need to get behind their midfield and take on their defenders, who've struggled to deal with opponents taking them on at all levels. Matic and Ramires/Fabregas have tended to push up quite aggressively too early in recent matches, so we can easily get behind their midfield if we can maintain possession under pressure and play the ball past their midfield line. Terry and Cahill have been exposed quite often by teams who played the ball beyond their midfield, and that's what we need to do, whether that be through a pass to Fellaini, Mata/Herrera combination, etc.

Their full backs have also struggled recently in 1-on-1 situations, particularly Azpilicueta. It's a bummer that Mata isn't that great at taking on players; otherwise, we could really run Azpi ragged. Filipe Luis is better in 1-on-1's, but he doesn't have a good enough awareness, so Mata's movement can definitely cause Luis problems whilst Azpi can deal with them better. I'd love to have di Maria take on Azpi, but since Mata's been so good, I can't see van Gaal taking out Mata for di Maria. Against Ivanovic, Young can definitely have a good match. Ivanovic defends aggressively like Zabaleta does, and he's struggled recently against players who've taken him on. Young can definitely cause Ivanovic problems if Ivanovic isn't having a great game; otherwise, I see Ivanovic nullifying Young, so Fellaini will be crucial in occupying the left hand side, giving some more space to Young and Blind.

What's crucial here is that we need to sustain the early pressure that Chelsea will put on us. Fail to do that, and we'd be likely to lose as Chelsea will be very tough to beat as they'll be up for it against us. If we can sustain their early pressure, however, and not concede the early goal, then we can definitely have a chance, even if Chelsea park the bus, as our team has good movement in them to drag around Chelsea's midfielders and full backs. This current Chelsea isn't as solid and disciplined as the Chelsea from the first half of the season, so we can definitely score a goal or two here.

TL;DR: Key points for both Chelsea and Man. Utd.
Chelsea:

• Press and hassle Man. Utd. early on. Get the early goal, and then shut up shop and play on the counter.
• If they can't get the early goal, shut up shop and look to counter Man. Utd.
• Break against Man. Utd. with speed and aggression.
• Protect the defence all the time, every time.
• If Chelsea can't score, they must play for the draw.

Man. Utd.:

• Sustain the early pressure. Do not be sloppy in possession.
• Play the ball past the midfield and take on Chelsea's defenders at every opportunity.
  • Isolate Chelsea's full backs and defenders and take them on.
  • Exploit the Chelsea midfield's aggressive tendencies and get the ball into space to exploit their defensive weaknesses.
• The defence must be up for it to win the ball quickly/slow them down and prevent Chelsea from stretching us.

TL;DR is TL;DR: Play like we did against them at Old Trafford and not concede

Or we could just boot it to Fellaini.

 

[mazhar13]

Or we could just boot it to Fellaini.

That's definitely one of the ways to bypass their defence, and I'm sure we'll definitely use that as @Brightonian mentioned. However, our movement will be very important in dragging Chelsea's defenders around, as Brightonian mentioned. If we're too static, then Chelsea's defenders will have an easy time stopping us with their aggression and pressing.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Mourinho will park the bus. 0-0.

 

[The Purist]

United have the better team on paper. The only way to beat Chelsea is: don't make mistakes. Chelsea are a boring team with little creativity outside of Hazard and a lot of defensive nous but the one thing you can guarantee is if you make a mistake, they'll punish it. As long as United don't commit to Hazard or give him chances to dive they'll struggle.

Can tell a few people in here don't watch Chelsea very often because they're being severely overrated in some posts.

I know I'm a Gooner but I hope you win to be honest. You may be United but at least you're a proper club unlike this Russian backed group of plastics.

 

[LeftyBlaster]

United have the better team on paper. The only way to beat Chelsea is: don't make mistakes. Chelsea are a boring team with little creativity outside of Hazard and a lot of defensive nous but the one thing you can guarantee is if you make a mistake, they'll punish it. As long as United don't commit to Hazard or give him chances to dive they'll struggle.

Can tell a few people in here don't watch Chelsea very often because they're being severely overrated in some posts.

I know I'm a Gooner but I hope you win to be honest. You may be United but at least you're a proper club unlike this Russian backed group of plastics.

Very untrue IMO. Fabregas and Matic are a very able double pivot and are great at deep playmaking. They've also got Oscar whose movement and vision is superb.

What we should do is what we did the first time we played them. Put Afro on Cesc and shut him out of the game.

 

[Bwuk]

If they play Fabregas deep next to Matic then I'll be confident. Matic would have to mark Fellaini for the long ball, and Cesc won't track the movement of Mata/Herrera

 

[Barca84]

Just as confident that we'll get something from this as I was prior to the City game and I'd say we can be unbeaten for our remaining fixtures. 2-0 to us - Chelsea are gash at the moment.

 

[Xaviesta]

This isn't the foregone conclusion this would have been 6 weeks ago, but I think Chelsea will win 2-1.

 

[LitterBug]

The feck is all this negativity? We've been playing miles better than Chelsea and are in top top form. They on the other hand have been scraping smash and grab wins against relegation battlers. What's wrong with you people? Get some fecking bottle!

 

[saivet]

Can see Chelsea putting Zouma in midfield. Probably to follow around Fellaini. That way across their right side, they will be strong in the air with Zouma, Ivanovic and Cahill. Our tactics have worked great in recent games but I think Chelsea may just nullify us. I'm think we can win there but equally, I could see this being a draw.

 

[humdinger]

I'm expecting a draw, and I'd be happy with that.

 

[lalloyd]

We're way better than them at the moment so they'll make it as boring as possible. 0-1 UNITED

 

[Ish]

2-1 Chelsea, winning, sitting back & choking the game, a controversial decision in there somewhere, benefitting Jose!

We'll play well though.

 

[gooDevil]

Same team, hopefully Carrick is fit. If not! Blind into midfield and Rojo or Shaw to LB.

 

[NessunDorma]

This is now the most highly anticipated game of the season for me.

We're playing the current best team in the league, away from home, while being in blistering form ourselves. So it's really intriguing.

The league title is long gone, in my opinion, but a win would still set down a marker, and indicate that we are very much back.

 

[Macern]

We have more than enough to stop him, we have Ivan Williian matic on that side, and if need be zouma, you lot should be more worried about picking hazard if carrick is missing.

Funny. Fellaini harassed Toure yesterday in the aerial duels. He harassed Skrtel a couple of weeks ago. How is Ivanovic, Matic and Willian going to handle him? Also, he's a genious in making space for himself. His position is a left attacking midfielder or something, and you'd have to play with a right defensive midfielder/inverted wingback to have a chance at picking him out of the game. Also, that player must be at least 200cm tall.

As for Hazard, we've got Valencia who may be crap at positioning himself sometimes, but he's really hard to get past in one-on-one situations. I actually believe he'll handle Hazard quite well.

 

[Mark_GrumpyLion]

Nervy, scrappy and dirty 2-3 win to us. I can imagine us wanting it more then Chelsea, and I'm optimistic considering our recent form. Can see Mata clinch the winner but not celebrating.

 

[BarstoolProphet]

Would have been more confident if we had Chicharito available. Now, not so much. Will be VERY happy with a draw.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

Nervy, scrappy and dirty 2-3 win to us. I can imagine us wanting it more then Chelsea, and I'm optimistic considering our recent form. Can see Mata clinch the winner but not celebrating.

I'm not sure. Mourinho has a great home record and they haven't lost at Stamford Bridge all season. I'd take a draw, avoiding defeat is the main thing. Just keep the unbeaten run going.

A win would be

 

[Tincanalley]

If we beat these then I'm going to be so annoying. We'd have the best head to head against the top teams in the table and probably wouldn't win the league.

Who are you going to direct your annoyance towards? Chelsea 1 - United 3.

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

Who are you going to direct your annoyance towards? Chelsea 1 - United 3.

To the players and management for failing to slay the relegation fodder, obviously.

 

[MUFCgal]

De Gea

Valencia
Smalling
Rojo
Blind

Herrera
Carrick
Fellaini

Mata
Rooney
Young

 

[darioterios]

Frank Lampard

David Luiz

Juan Mata

 

[Tincanalley]

I notice that Physioroom.com have Carrick with a calf/shin injury, but back 18th April (as are RVP and Shaw). Good news, if it's to be believed.

 

[Cnaiür urs Skiötha]

Chelsea will sit deep. We will hoof the ball to Fellaini and he will score with a header. Mourinho will start to play more offensive and Mata will make the decisive goal.