Trouble At The Top

If the first half of the campaign has become something of a formality for United and Chelsea fans in recent seasons, the turn of the year usually finds the air heavy with adrenalin. The last time The Reds played a home game of this scale in the Premiership was back in April against Arsenal so Sunday’s clash will be greeted even more eagerly than usual by the Old Trafford faithful. And, as usual, the result is extremely hard to predict.

It’s been a strange season for the Premiership’s current duopoly, both searching for top form, but both nevertheless nestled fairly comfortably behind the frontrunners Liverpool, who themselves have stumbled on occasion against lesser opponents.

Coming into the game, Chelsea’s problem remains a lack of cohesiveness. Like Avram Grant before him, Scolari has struggled, so far, to squeeze his catalogue of stars into an effective and attractive unit.  He’s not quite sure if he should play Drogba and Anelka in tandem up front or stay faithful to the formation that he clearly prefers, which leans  towards the 4-3-3. Anelka doesn’t like playing wide left of that 3, leaving a Robinho-sized whole in the line-up. Likewise in midfield, Chelsea have great players but they all want to play through the middle. So apart from the sporadically marauding full backs, The Blues lack width. Like last season, when they eventually reached the Champions League Final, a workable balance will probably be found as the season reaches its climax, but Scolari won’t be sleeping comfortably on the back of several poor performances at home and away. But even if the collective is yet to click, Chelsea have too much quality to ever be taken lightly.

United’s problem is similar if not as wide ranging. The issue at Old Trafford appears to lie more exclusively with the misfiring forward line. The more sceptical might describe Ferguson’s current 11 as a team of midfielders. They are all easy on the eye, technically excellent and are creating as many chances as ever. But Ronaldo’s shooting boots are temporarily blunted while Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov have ‘amassed’ only 9 league goals between them. All the strikers prefer to play in the hole behind the front man and none has yet taken to the role of putting the ball in the net. For a team that regularly threatens to break into 3 digits in the ‘goals for’ column, this isn’t good enough. United won’t always be able to rely on their defence for results. You feel that the moment of enlightenment isn’t too far away for this team, but United need to step up if they are to have any hope of replicating their achievements of 2008.

Many of the pundits have called this as a draw, arguing that both teams will focus heavily on avoiding defeat but if one team does grasp the nettle and win, they will surely be favourites for the title. If United get an early goal you could see them going on to win by 2 but if Chelsea can forge a lead, they will be tough to break down with an impeccable record on the road. Either way, the first goal will be crucial.

What’s your prediction?