EPL: Blues, United in Bridge duel

Chelsea vs. Man United
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick-off: 4pm

Chelsea will attempt to continue their strong run of form against Manchester United when they welcome Louis van Gaal’s top-four chasers to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts are unbeaten in their last six Premier League games against Manchester United and have also not suffered defeat since interim boss, Guus Hiddink, took control of first-team affairs in December.
It will take more than a eight-game unbeaten run in the Premier League for the Chelsea supporters to accept what has been a poor season for the English champions, but there is no question that they are in better shape now than they were earlier in the campaign.
A disastrous opening to the season led to Jose Mourinho leaving his position as head coach and eyebrows were raised when Hiddink was given the job on an interim basis for the second time.
The Dutchman’s first league game in charge was a 3-1 win over Sunderland and Chelsea have still not been beaten under the stewardship of the experienced boss.
In their eight games under Hiddink, they have won three and drawn five, which has seen them jump a couple of places into 13th position. When they won 1-0 at Arsenal on January 24, some claimed that the champions could still finish in the top four, but they are currently 16 points off fourth-placed Arsenal following a 0-0 draw at Watford on Wednesday night.
Chelsea’s record from 24 league games this season reads: won seven, drawn eight and lost nine.
They are 11 points off fifth-placed Man United, but as mentioned, they are currently on a six-game unbeaten run against the Red Devils and they have only lost one of their last 13 home Premier League games against the 20-time English champions.
The Blues have drawn their last three home games in the league, however, and they have never drawn four in a row on home soil since the Premier League started.
The reverse match at Old Trafford just after Christmas finished 0-0, but Chelsea recorded a 1-0 victory when Man United made the trip to London towards the end of last season.
The top four might be beyond Chelsea, but they will have their eyes on a top-seven finish. After this one, they have a favourable run, which includes games against Newcastle United, Norwich City and Stoke City.
That said, quite incredibly, the current English champions have still not recorded back-to-back league wins this season.
The likes of John Terry, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa have started to perform on a regular basis, however, while John Obi Mikel – a favourite of Hiddink – has tightened up matters in the middle of the park.
The hierarchy will already be planning for next season in terms of the Premier League, but Chelsea are still in the Champions League and will more than likely need to win that competition if they are to bring top-level European football to Stamford Bridge next season.
Chelsea, realistically, cannot finish in the top four this season, but Man United now have fourth-placed Arsenal in their sights following an impressive 3-0 win over Stoke City on Tuesday night.
It was the second successive match where the Red Devils had scored three goals and they will enter Sunday’s match at Stamford Bridge looking to continue what has been a solid start to 2016.
A 1-0 home defeat to Southampton on January 23 brought a furious reaction from the supporters, but that has been their only defeat since the turn of the year.
They were 1-0 winners at Liverpool in their last Premier League away match and also secured their spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 success over Derby County at the end of last month.
The pressure is still firmly on Van Gaal, but the Dutchman’s record against the so-called bigger teams in the top flight is actually very strong.

Chelsea possible starting lineup: Courtois, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma, Azpiliceuta, Mikel, Matic, Willian, Fabregas, Hazard, Costa.
Man United possible starting lineup: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Carrick, Fellaini, Martial, Mata, Lingard, Rooney.