DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE HANDSHAKE

Sadly, pre-match t-shirt wearing and handshakes is again likely to grab the headlines regardless of what happens of the pitch, as Rio Ferdinand of Man United comes up against Ashley Cole of Chelsea. John Terry, thankfully, is suspended and joins the injured Frank Lampard on the sidelines, giving us a glimpse of the Chelsea team of the future.

 

In fact, one of Roberto Di Matteo's successful tricks has been to begin the process of easing both John Terry and Frank Lampard off the list of Chelsea untouchables without creating anything like the fuss that happened when Andre Villas-Boas tried the same thing a year ago.

Chelsea's excellent domestic start to the season was put into context rather sharply in Donetsk on Tuesday night when they looked anything but champions of Europe.

At the same time, Braga were giving Manchester United a much tougher night than anticipated. Nevertheless, both Chelsea and United have started the season more convincingly than the domestic champions, Manchester City.

Chelsea have certainly been the exceptional side in the Premier League so far, and United and City know that they cannot afford to just keep an eye on each other alone.

United are yet to play at their very best this season but van Persie has been integrated seamlessly, Jones and Smalling are yet to kick a ball, Ashley Young is to come back along with Vidic, and Kagawa and Cleverley have been used sparingly. Over the course of the season I think I would just take United to pip Chelsea - over 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge, I am not so sure.

Meanwhile, Manchester United's Shinji Kagawa is facing a four-week spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.

The Japan international picked up the knock against Braga on Tuesday, meaning he will miss Sunday's trip to Chelsea and the following weekend's encounter with Arsenal, plus the return Champions League game with Braga and his country's World Cup qualifier with Oman on Nov 14.

Chris Smalling has returned to training after a broken metatarsal but Phil Jones and Anders Lindegaard remain sidelined .

Match Notes
Is it really a decade since United last took three points from Stamford Bridge?

Robin van Persie will be as keen as anyone to end that drought, particularly as he scored a hat-trick, for Arsenal, on his last visit.

Chelsea, apart from their midweek blip, are flying and will hope their long journey back from Ukraine does not hinder their title prospects against a side that has a conceded first in eight of their 12 games.

MATCH FACTS

 

Head-to-head

• The clubs have met 40 times in the Premier League: Chelsea lead by 13 wins to United's 12, with both teams scoring 53 goals. Chelsea are the only team in the Premier League era with a positive win/loss record against Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
• Chelsea are unbeaten against Manchester United in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge in their last 10 meetings since a 3-0 defeat in April 2002. This is United's longest run without a win at a top-flight ground since a 16-game winless streak at West Ham (1969-87).
• Manchester United are unbeaten in their last five games against Chelsea in all competitions (W4 D1).

Chelsea

• Chelsea have 22 points from their first eight Premier League games. That tally has only been bettered once in Premier League history - by Chelsea (24) in 2005-06.
• The Londoners are the only team in the Premier League still boasting a 100% home record.
• Roberto Di Matteo's side have benefited from six league goals by defenders this season - more than any other side in the division. They also have the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League alongside Arsenal, with just six goals conceded.
• Fernando Torres has scored four goals in his last seven Premier League starts against Manchester United.
• David Luiz has scored in his last two Premier League appearances against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester United

• Manchester United are the Premier League's top scorers with 21 goals from their first eight games.
• Robin van Persie has scored six goals in eight Premier League games - his most ever at this stage of the season.
• Van Persie has also scored five goals in his last two Premier League visits to Stamford Bridge, while Wayne Rooney has six goals in his last eight Premier League appearances against Chelsea.
• Manchester United have recovered more points from losing positions than any other team in the Premier League this season (12). They have conceded the first goal in eight of their 12 league and cup games in 2012-13.
• This will be Sir Alex Ferguson's 50th top-flight meeting with Chelsea. He has won 16, drawn 18 and lost 15 of the previous 49 and boasts just six wins from 25 league trips to Stamford Bridge.

Sunday, October 28

Chelsea v Manchester United
Stamford Bridge
Kick-off: 16.00 GMT.
TV: Live Sky Sports 1, Highlights BBC ONE Match of the Day2.
 

Chelsea (possible, 4-3-3): Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole; Ramires, Oscar, Mikel; Mata, Torres, Hazard.
Out: Lampard (calf), Terry (suspended).

Manchester United (possible, 4-3-1-2): De Gea; Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Giggs; Rooney; Welbeck, Van Persie.
Out: Jones, Kagawa (both knee), Lindegaard (thumb), Smalling (match fitness), Vidic (knee).

Referee: Mark Clattenburg. Matches 5, R2 Y24.