Sunday could be a huge in determining the 2012-13 season of the Premier League as Manchester United takes on Chelsea.
Chelsea has run out to first place with seven wins and one draw in their first eight matches. They have been aided by the emergence of their midfield maestros Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, and Oscar as well as some timely scoring from forward Fernando Torres. The team has a sturdy defense that has only conceded six times this season. Chelsea is coming off two four goal games in the Premier League (both wins), but was slowed down a bit Tuesday in the defense of their UCL victory last spring by Shakthar Donetsk. The 2-1 loss saw Torres play an embarrassing match and witnessed the shut down of Chelsea creativity.
Their opponents remained perfect in the UCL with a win over Braga, but Man United has not been invincible either. They recently lost Shinkji Kagawa to injury and have the continued inconsistency in net with David De Gea alternating with with Anders Lindegaard. De Gea has been minding the nets for Man U in the last three matches so it could be an indication that Sir Alex Ferguson is slowly handing the reigns back to the Spanish keeper. Another player who has stepped up is Mexican Javier Hernandez who broke out for two goals against Braga and could be poised for more after have delivered nothing for Man U this season. The Robbin Van Persie-Wayne Rooney experiment seems to be working just fine and could be a huge concern for Chelsea.
'Last season when these two teams met Man U won 3-1 at the Old Trafford and then stormed back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game 3-3. With 10 goals in two games, it is likely that there will be plenty of fireworks in this one as well.
Prediction: Chelsea is home and in top form, but Man U does have more deft all around. 3-3 draw.