Manchester United vs. Chelsea: How the Blues Should Line Up in Premier League

Chelsea will be looking to maintain their unbeaten Premier League run when they travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Sunday. Despite sitting in sixth place, United are seven points worse off than they were this time last season, and they will be looking to restore some of their severely dented pride with a result against Jose Mourinho’s men.

The Special One has been forced into rotating his squad since the international break, with illness and injury forcing several key players to the sidelines. However, he will be hoping to have the majority of these players back for Sunday, and is likely to start his strongest XI.

Thibaut Courtois should retake his place in goal after sitting out Chelsea’s midweek win over NK Maribor. Petr Cech has proven in recent weeks that he still has plenty to offer, but he is still unlikely to feature too often in the Premier League this season.

Cesar Azpilicueta’s red card against Crystal Palace last weekend will hand Filipe Luis his first Premier League start of the season at left-back. The Brazilian has so far been restricted to appearances in the Champions League and Capital One Cup, but his performances in these competitions have shown that he is capable of stepping up in the league as well.

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Mourinho says @filipeluis brings important experience to the squad and he is in perfect condition ahead of Sunday's game. #CFC

— Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) October 24, 2014"

Captain John Terry scored his first goal of the season in the 6-0 win over NK Maribor after running the length of the pitch to get on to Eden Hazard’s pass, and was pleased with the overall performance of the team. Speaking to the official Chelsea website after the game, Terry said:

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We’ve got a big squad; Didier [Drogba] came on and showed what a great player he still is. The players are showing how important the depth of our squad could be this season. As the manager rightly says, everybody’s got a part to play and we’ve seen that in the last few games.

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Although Kurt Zouma started alongside Terry in midweek and put in an accomplished performance, Gary Cahill is likely to return to the starting XI on Sunday. Mourinho likened his treatment of Zouma to that of Raphael Varane at Real Madrid and hinted that, while the player is definitely a trusted member of the squad, he still prefers the stability of the Cahill-Terry pairing for the league, per his post-match interview on the official Chelsea website.

Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas will resume their midfield partnership as the two players in the squad who have completed the most passes this season. Between them they have made 157 passes per game on average, via WhoScored, while Fabregas has made sure that at least three of those passes create a chance in each match.

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The attacking trio is likely to remain the same, with Willian on the right of Oscar and Hazard on the left. The Belgian’s form has picked up in recent weeks and after slotting home a penalty and scoring the pick of the goals on Tuesday night, there is no chance of him missing out in this match.

Andre Schurrle started up front in this fixture last season, ahead of both Romelu Lukaku and Fernando Torres. Assuming he has recovered from the illness that saw him leave international duty early, he could be called upon to reprise that role on Sunday. Loic Remy is almost certainly unavailable after injuring himself in the process of scoring Chelsea’s first goal against Maribor, while Didier Drogba is simply too old to play two full matches in a week.

Schurrle’s participation will hinge on how truthful Mourinho was being about Diego Costa’s injury. Per BBC Sport, the striker was released from hospital on Thursday after suffering from a mystery stomach bug, and doubts have been cast over his fitness for Sunday’s game.

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Jose reports Diego Costa has a 'little chance' of playing, as do Ramires and Mikel. Loic Remy is out. #CFC

— Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) October 24, 2014"

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Jose reports Diego Costa suffered from a virus earlier this week. He trained individually today. #CFC

— Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) October 24, 2014"

However, Costa has also been rated as doubtful for games against both Everton and Swansea City, and ended up scoring five goals over these two matches.

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Mourinho will be looking forward to facing Louis Van Gaal again. The last time the two managers clashed, Mourinho completed his treble with Inter Milan, beating Van Gaal’s Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. Although this match will not carry so much significance, especially considering United’s current plight, The Special One will certainly put out his best side to win on Sunday.

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