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The gravity of United’s predicament is clear. They have an opportunity to recover from the 2-1 loss to Bayern when they meet the Bavarians at Old Trafford next week. But Wayne Rooney probably won’t be there to help them.
Rooney's ankle is sprained, and although initial estimates suggested his convalescence would require some two to four weeks, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been reluctant to reveal anything.
More importantly for United, however, Rooney won’t be available for the Red Devil’s massive league match against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Saturday. Yet Saturday’s winner--if there is one--probably wins the league!
Points are like gold right now
United hold the league lead by just a point going into the weekend, and they’ll be determined to avenge their 1-0 loss to the Londoners at Stamford Bridge in November. A win over Chelsea on Saturday would give United a four point lead and allow them some breathing room should they fail to get maximum points in the run-in to the end of the season.
Considering that United are yet to play Manchester City and Tottenham before the season ends those four points could be worth their weight in gold.
Beating Chelsea, however, will be a big task, even at Old Trafford. Without Rooney in the lineup United have often failed to impress. The England striker has 34 goals in all competitions this season and has seemed unstoppable.
Prior to the midweek loss in Germany United had gone seven games undefeated, scoring 19 goals and letting in only two in that time. Rooney scored nine of those 19.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will undoubtedly turn to Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov in
Although Berbatov’s commitment has been questioned from time-to-time, especially in light of his £30 million transfer fee, the Bulgarian has been impressive in recent weeks, and scored two in United’s 0-4 win over Bolton last weekend.
Still, against Chelsea, and in subsequent matches until Rooney’s return, Berbatov will be carrying the full weight of Manchester United’s hopes and aspirations for the championship this season. It could make, or break, his reputation among the pantheon of Manchester United gods.
London Calling
Having crashed surprisingly out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 thanks to a resilient Inter Milan squad, Chelsea will be looking to exorcise their demons and prove they are the rightful claimants to the English throne. Except for a small matter an FA Cup Semi-Final upcoming, the Blues can now turn their focus almost entirely on the league.
Chelsea have trailed United for some weeks now, but for much of that time they possessed a game in hand and thus were well-placed to take the top spot. All they needed to do was continue to win and the league was theirs.
But Blackburn Rovers forced a shocking draw with the Blues 10 days ago. Chelsea’s game in hand was effectively nullified as a result and the Blues found themselves chasing the lead.
Like a wounded bear Chelsea came back in subsequent games and tore the competition asunder. They gobbled up Portsmouth at Fratton Park, winning that one 0-5, then last weekend they destroyed Aston Villa, embarrassingly thrashing Villa 7-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Fate in their own hands
Both teams come into the weekend’s match with injuries to key players. United won’t have Rooney, Hargreaves, Brown, Owen, O’Shea, Anderson or Welbeck. Chelsea are missing Ivanovic, Carvalho, Bosingwa, Essien and Ashley Cole.
Yet both squads possess talent pools deep enough to field quality selections even when injuries are rife.
Injuries aside, each club controls its own destiny coming into the weekend’s match at Old Trafford, and each will see a win as essential. For Manchester United the three points adds cushion to their lead should they concoct to wobble in the run in. For Chelsea the three points means they overtake United and then it’s simply a case on hanging on through the following five games.
Neither side would find a draw to be palatable, for that would open the door to Arsenal again. Indeed, a draw would be especially abhorrent to Chelsea, whom Arsenal could catch were they to win at the weekend.
Can Manchester United beat Chelsea without Wayne Rooney in their lineup? Absolutely, of this there can be no doubt. One could point to the 0-4 win over Bolton last week as an example of Manchester United’s potential for firepower without Wayne Rooney.
Fair enough, United can clearly put the ball in the onion bag without Rooney in the line up. But let’s face a simple fact: Bolton is not Chelsea.
Burnley, however, sit in the 14th place in the league. It’s a very respectable position for a club of Burnley's limited resources, and their relative success can be attributed to manager Owen Coyle, now managing Bolton. With three draws and three losses in their last six Premier League matches, the Clarets recent form could be seen as consistent with their league position. But they’ll need wins at some point if they want to stay ahead of the relegation zone, and new manager Brian Laws, a surprise appointment to replace Owen Coyle, will be hoping he can instill some confidence in his men, who must have been bewildered by the suddenness of Coyle’s departure.
