Manchester United have disappointed in the first leg of the quarter-finals phase of Champions League and lost an essential player, Wayne Rooney, their topscorer this season, with 34 goals this season, out of which 26 were scored in the Premiership. But still, Manchester United have won all their last 5 home matches and have an outstanding home form of 14 wins, a draw and only one loss. The importance of this match and the number of missing players for United, changes the outcome of the story. Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck, Anderson, Wes Brown and Ritchie De Laet are all missing and also John O´Shea and Owen Hargreaves are doubtful for this match. Certainly, Man U will not give up without a fight but more than likely they won't succeed in securing a victory against Chelsea.
Chelsea, on the other hand, used to lead in the Premiership and must regain the top spot. Having Drogba fit again is a huge advantage as he is their topscorer with 24 goals in the Premier League this season. Away, they have a good form, with 8 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses. In their last 5 away matches, they won twice, drew twice and lost once. Chelsea also has some missing players: Mickael Essien, Jose Bosingwa, Ricardo Carvalho, Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole. It won't be a stroll in the park for the Blues but now, more than ever, I see them coming back with points from the Old Trafford.
Here are the starting teams for this match:
Manchester United: van der Sar - Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Neville - Fletcher, Carrick - Giggs, Park, Valencia - Berbatov
Chelsea: Cech - Zhirkov, Terry, Alex, Ferreira - Lampard, Mikel, Ballack - Malouda, Drogba, Anelka
