Why Manchester United Will Need Angel Di Maria in Premier League vs. Chelsea

When Manchester United face Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday, it will be a difficult challenge even with Angel Di Maria in the side. Without him, United's hopes of victory look slimmer still.

Fortunately, the current news seems positive. Simon Rice of the Independent writes today:

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...it's understood that the £59.7m signing has been largely untroubled by the injury during training this week and went into the club's training ground on a squad day off on Wednesday to boost his chances of being ready.

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Chelsea are unbeaten in the league this season, scoring freely and playing fluent, effective football. United, on the other hand, have endured a tricky start. Whilst things have certainly improved at Old Trafford since the end of the transfer window, United's performances away from home have been characterised by defensive frailty.

Even at home, United have only kept one clean sheet and relied upon David De Gea's shot-stopping masterclass to beat Everton.

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Given all this, the chances of United keeping Chelsea's attack quiet on their upcoming visit seem remote. A good defensive performance is not beyond the realms of possibility—after all, United have some fine individual defenders, but they are clearly not yet functioning as an effective unit.

Assuming that good performance is not forthcoming, it will be down to United's attacking strength to get the side a result.

Angel Di Maria will be crucial to that.

So far this season he has contributed three goals and four assists in his six appearances. He has made 18 key passes, at an average of three per game, the best average by some distance of all United players.

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He has made an average of 2.2 successful dribbles per game, more than any other United player. His crossing has been prolific, if not always accurate. Against West Bromwich Albion on Monday, for example, only three of his 19 attempted crosses found a United player.

One of those did lead to Marouane Fellaini's brilliantly taken goal, however, and although the goalscorer may have come as some surprise, the provider did not.

The statistics, whilst giving a fine pointer of just how important Di Maria has been to United, do not tell the whole story of that importance. He has been a key part of linking United's midfield and attack, and he added a level of coherence to the attacking unit that cannot be measured numerically.

This was particularly the case when he played on the left of a midfield diamond against Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City, West Ham United and Everton. From that more flexible role, he was able to be the main creative fulcrum. He often dropped deep and used his ability to run with the ball to create space for himself and his team-mates.

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Against West Brom, he played as an out-and-out winger, and the balance of United's midfield felt slightly less fluent, with neither Juan Mata nor Ander Herrera excelling in the centre.

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea have been enjoyable to watch this season, from a footballing aesthetic perspective, particularly when Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa have combined. But they have also been solid defensively, with the exception of their bizarre 6-3 win at Goodison Park.

There is no doubt that United's forwards have the potential to trouble even the best defences. However, Robin van Persie has looked out of sorts—his four unsuccessful attempts at control against West Brom being a good indicator of this, the most of any United player.

He was unable to exert the kind of influence he would have liked to on United's attack, only really shining with one attempt, which hit the post.

Wayne Rooney is unavailable. Mata was substituted after 71 largely fruitless minutes against West Brom—zero key passes being a reasonable indicator of his lack of effectiveness. Doubts remain over Herrera's involvement given his rib injury.

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With all that in mind, much will rest on the shoulders of Di Maria and fellow newcomer Radamel Falcao if United are to demonstrate that, in spite of the troubles they have faced so far this season, they are still a match for any opponent.

All statistics per WhoScored.com