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Saturday, September 20, 2008

CHELSEA VS.MANCHESTER UNITED



The Big Match: Sunday, 2.00pm
Chelsea team news Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is in contention to play against Manchester United on Sunday but is not ready for 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge.
Luiz Felipe Scolari could start him and take him off in the Barclays Premier League match, or put the Ivory Coast international on the bench.
Michael Ballack has recovered from a foot injury but has only trained properly this week. Michael Essien is a long-term absentee.
Provisional squad: Cech, Hilario, A Cole, Carvalho, Terry, Bosingwa, Lampard, J Cole, Mikel, Malouda, Deco, Anelka, Drogba, Di Santo, Ballack, Ferreira, Kalou, Alex, Belletti, Bridge.
Manchester United team news Sir Alex Ferguson could have both Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo in his Manchester United starting line-up to face Chelsea on Sunday.
Berbatov missed Wednesday's Champions League draw with Villarreal after suffering a knee injury at Liverpool last weekend, while Ronaldo made his comeback in midweek after two months out following ankle surgery.
However, Ferguson confirmed Berbatov is fit again and is also considering whether to hand Ronaldo a place in his side at Stamford Bridge.
Ferguson is without suspended defender Nemanja Vidic, while England goalkeeper Ben Foster is out for six to eight weeks with ankle ligament damage suffered in a reserve team match against Blackburn last night.
Provisional squad: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Brown, Neville, R Da Silva, Ferdinand, Evans, O'Shea, Evra, F Da Silva, Ronaldo, Nani, Hargreaves, Anderson, Possebon, Fletcher, Park, Giggs, Tevez, Rooney, Berbatov, Manucho, Welbeck

OPTA Match facts United ended a run of five games in all competitions without a goal at Stamford Bridge courtesy of Rooney’s strike in their 2-1 defeat last April. United haven’t won away at Chelsea since April 2002. Man Utd have won only one of their last six Premier League trips to play capital clubs. Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 84 Premier League matches at Stamford Bridge. In the two meetings last season, the home side won the match on each occasion by opening the scoring in the 45th minute and netting a penalty in the last five minutes of the match. In the 16 Premier League seasons, United have had nine points or more after four games in eight campaigns, but won the league on only four of those occasions (50%). In the other eight seasons, they had eight points or less from four matches, but won the league six times (75%). It is 27 league games since United failed to score - the longest current run of any team. United’s last four defeats have all been by a 2-1 scoreline. Nicolas Anelka scored the winning goal for Bolton against Man Utd last season and has netted five times against the Red Devils, winning seven and losing only three of his 13 appearances against Sir Alex Ferguson’s men. United have scored only five goals in the last eight games Cristiano Ronaldo has missed, losing three and drawing two

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