Three key duels that will decide the outcome of Chelsea vs. Manchester United

One of the big Premier League fixtures of the season takes place at the weekend as struggling Manchester United head to London to face Chelsea, who are flying high in third place and chasing down the table toppers.

United, down in seventh, trail the Blues by 9 points and are five points outside the top four, making defeat at Stamford Bridge an unpalatable thought. However, Chelsea have won nine of their 10 home league matches this season, conceding just eight times in the process, with United winning six of their 10 games on their travels.

With such a huge three points at stake for both teams, it’s worth considering the players who could easily have a huge say in the outcome of the match.

Petr Cech vs. Wayne Rooney

Chelsea stopper Petr Cech has recorded eight clean sheets this season so far, the fourth-highest tally in the Premier League. He averages 1.24 saves per game and concedes at a rate of less than a goal per game, indicating that chances for the away side could well be at a premium.

Facing Cech is likely to be United forwards Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, the two top scorers for the team this season with nine and eight goals respectively, but with 54 shots, Rooney is by far the more frequent goal threat out of the two in terms of attempts on goal. He registers 54% of them on target. By way of a quick observation, Rooney’s 25 shots on target comes out at 1.2 shots on target per game and with Cech making 1.37 saves per goal conceded, Rooney is going to have to up either his conversion rate or his number of attempts during the match to be considered likely to score.

Frank Lampard vs. Michael Carrick

In deeper areas of midfield, two of England’s elder statesmen could have big impacts on their respective teams’ performances. While not similar in playing style, both Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick like to get on the ball in space and play forward-thinking passes, with the former obviously then encouraged to surge forward to greater effect than the latter.

Lampard has created 23 (1.28 per game) chances to Carrick’s 14 (one per game) and has scored four goals while Carrick is yet to register, but as might be expected, Carrick fares rather better on the ball and in his defensive work.

Carrick duels in 2013/14

The United man has an 87% pass completion rate, with Lampard lagging behind on 83%, while Carrick also wins 49% of his duels against 44% from Lampard, but the Chelsea man wins a greater number of tackles: 26 to 19.

Eden Hazard vs. Rafael

Manchester United have a few defensive injuries to the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans, which should see Chris Smalling revert to central defence and Rafael return on the right. While the Brazilian will be pleased to return to the team after two matches sat out, he might be less than thrilled to come up against one of the league’s most in-form players in Eden Hazard.

Chelsea’s best player over the Christmas and New Year period, Hazard has contributed 9 goals and created 50 chances for his team this season from his free-roaming, left-sided role. He has completed 76 take-ons in just 21 appearances, has won 59 free kicks from fouls on him and hits 67% of his shots on target.

Hazard has created 50 chances in the EPL in 2013/14

Against that, Rafael’s pace and ability to quickly return to his starting position against counter-attacks will be vital, though he will have to be careful of fouling Hazard repeatedly having committed 16 already in just nine games. Rafael has also won 52% of his tackles and 54% of his headed duels this season, while going the opposite way he has created one chance per game—nine in total, with no assists so far.