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Manchester United travel to South-West London on Sunday as they take on Chelsea in a eagerly awaited Premier League clash. Games between Manchester United & Chelsea have decided the destination of the title in the last seven seasons. But Chelsea have fallen well behind their Northern rivals this season and with 12 points separating the two, the Blues are definitely out of the title race. Both teams were involved in mid-week, with United defeating Stoke City 2-0 at home while Chelsea drew 1-1 at Swansea.

(Click here for the Match Report)

The Red Devils are on a four-match winning run against Chelsea, stretching back to last season's Champions League quarter-finals. When the two sides met at Old Trafford earlier in the season, the defending Champions prevailed 3-1 in a very open game that is remembered for Fernando Torres' astonishing miss.

Chelsea

Tuesday night's game at the Liberty Stadium epitomized Chelsea's season so far: defensive mistakes, lack of creativity in midfield, toothless attack and flashes of old brilliance. As Andre Villas-Boas continues to rebuild a side that once dominated the Premier League he struggles to maintain their competitiveness this season. Chelsea redefined their season's ambition as securing a Champions League spot and they haven't gone about achieving that with great merit either.

The draw at Swansea was their 5th stalemate in eight Premier League games and their 6th draw overall this season. They have had a problem in front of goal, where they have scored more than one goal in a game only once since the 2-1 victory over Man City in early December. In the same time period, they have maintained just two clean sheets. They now lie seven points off Tottenham in 3rd while below them, Liverpool have reduced the gap to four points. Chelsea also face games against Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham between noe & the end of the season.

Villas-Boas will be without numerous first team players for Sunday's game as Ashley Cole is suspended after being sent-off against Swansea while Ramires joined Jon Obi Mikel & Frank Lampard on the injury table. John Terry missed the mid-week game with a knee injury, and is unlikely to recover in time to face United.

Man United

Sir Alex Ferguson watched his side draw level with Manchester City at the top as they took full advantage of their rival's loss at Everton. With 16 games left in the season United & City are neck-to-neck in the table, separated only by goal difference. The victory on Tuesday achieved added significance as United got the job done despite missing 11 first-team regulars. The loss to Liverpool in the FA Cup last weekend would have knocked them back a bit, but the stand-ins ensured there were no further slip-ups as Javier Hernandez & Dimitar Berbatov got on the score sheet.

United have won four the five fixtures since losing 3-0 to Newcastle United on New Year's Day, a run that includes victories against Man City and Arsenal. The return of Paul Scholes has brought a renewed composure to their midfield as the maestro has rolled back the clock with vintage performances. In the absence of Darren Fletcher, Tom Cleverly & Anderson, Scholes & Michael Carrick have been vital to United staying in touch with City.

United should see some of their big names return to fitness by Sunday's game, with Wayne Rooney, Nani & Ashley Young all expected to make it to the squad. David de Gea and Anders Lindegaard, both of whom missed the Stoke game after picking up late injuries, are also in the running for Chelsea's game.

Head-to-Head:

18th, Sept, 2011: Man United 3-1 Chelsea
8th May, 2011: Man United 2-1 Chelsea

Form Guide:

Chelsea: DWDWW

31st Jan, 2012: Swansea 1-1 Chelsea
28th Jan, 2012: QPR 0-1 Chelsea (FA Cup)
21st Jan, 2012: Norwich 0-0 Chelsea
14th Jan, 2012: Chelsea 1-0 Sunderland
8th Jan, 2012: Chelsea 4-0 Portsmouth (FA Cup)

Man United: WLWWW

31st Jan, 2012: Man United 2-0 Stoke
28th Jan, 2012: Liverpool 1-2 Man United (FA Cup)
22nd Jan, 2012: Arsenal 1-2 Man United
14th Jan, 2012: Man United 3-0 Bolton
8th Jan, 2012: Man City 2-3 Man United (FA Cup)

Probable Line-Ups:

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech (Gk), Bosingwa, Luiz, Ivanovic, Cahill, Romeu, Meireles, Malouda, Sturridge, Torres, Mata

With his options few and far between in midfield, it remains to be seen if Villas-Boas chooses to start with Michael Essien for what is expected to be a high-intensity game or stick with a midfield trio of Oriol Romeu, Raul Meireles and Florent Malouda. Another problem area will be left-back, where whoever steps in for Cole is bound to have his nerves jangled by Antonio Valencia. Villas-Boas has the option of moving Jose Bosingwa to left-back and shifting Branislav Ivanovic to right-back or to play the Portuguese in his usual position on the right while drafting in Paulo Ferreira for the left-back role. In attack, Daniel Sturridge & Juan Mata will play on either side of Torres.

Man United (4-4-1-1): De Gea (Gk), Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Park, Rooney, Welbeck

Though Rio Ferdinand made a comeback in mid-week, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans look likely to be the pair in central defence while Patrice Evra & Rafael da Silva start in the full-back positions. Sir Alex has preferred the midfield partnership of Ryan Giggs & Carrick against Chelsea while Park Ji Sung's energy & movement will be important on the left. Rooney will play off Danny Welbeck, who will lead the line in what has become Sir Alex Ferguson's best striking partnership. The goal-keeper's spot as always will be a toss between De Gea and Lindegaard, provided both recover sufficiently from theor injuries.

Prediction: Manchester United might have a god record against Chelsea in recent fixtures, but they still haven't secured three points from a Premier League trip to Stamford Bridge since 2002. But as United showed against City, Arsenal and for large periods against Liverpool, they have the experience in their ranks to get the right result. Rooney's return will be vital for the Red Devils while across the divide, the spotlight will once again fall on Torres.

Predicted Score: Chelsea 1-2 Man United

File Photograph