A very important match is cooking for Saturday as Chelsea and Maurizio Sarri face Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. What is at stake for the 2nd and 8th place teams, and who has more to prove?
Chelsea will be under the greater pressure to get the three points at Stamford Bridge. Tied with Liverpool and Manchester City for first place, a win on Saturday would be a step closer to tilting the balance in their favor. But it will be a tough ask for Maurizio Sarri’s men. Manchester United are more than likely to park the bus, a strategy that lesser teams have used to some effect against Chelsea this year.
This will make the encounter a test for the attacking front of Chelsea. Since the beginning of the season, Sarrismo has been a great success at keeping possession and controlling the game. But the one area that has not been stabilized is the offence’s ability to finish. Chelsea have counted on Eden Hazard to take care of most of the goals, while Alvaro Morata has struggled to score and Olivier Giroud has not even opened his account for the season.
If United sit back and defend for most of the game, it will turn into a challenge for the creative players to prove they can score under pressure.
The fixture will also be a huge test for Sarrismo and the dominance Chelsea can have over the big teams. Maurizio Sarri and his new philosophy have been nothing short of great. Keeping possession of the ball and pressing high up the field, they are an improved and even more exciting system than Barcelona’s golden age.
To Sarri’s credit, they overcame Arsenal early in the season. But now things have settled throughout the league, and Chelsea need to show they are serious title contenders.
Manchester United, on the other hand, won’t have much to play for other than “let’s not lose this one.” The club seems disjointed and unhappy. A sense of mediocracy fills the air every time United step onto the field, and obviously they are the only ones upset about it.
Sitting in eighth place on the Premier League table, United still have a lot of catching up to do. Their football has no consistency and they manage to win games by relying on some players rather than the entire team.
But more importantly, Jose Mourinho’s job could be on the line. If Chelsea take the three points on Saturday, it would be almost biblical for The Special One to get fired because of it. Mourinho seems to have lost the loving relationship he once had with his star player, Paul Pogba. With it, some players are struggling for form and their manager is not doing much to improve it. The club are offering some players contract extensions, making it seem like they no longer trust Mourinho and would rather invest their money with the team.
Chelsea will come out with the strongest squad possible to face their bitter rivals. The only worry at the moment is Antonio Rudiger, who is injured. Sarri will be hoping the German international returns to fitness before the match.
The Blues must leave it all on the pitch with three crucial points on the line. And with the Europa League next, some players should be able to perform at the best of their levels on Saturday and then rest during the week.