Match Preview: Chelsea v Manchester United

This fixture usually produces fireworks and you can expect no different on Bonfire Night when United visit the champions on Sunday for what is always an eagerly-awaited occasion.

Setting the scene: The Reds are  second in the Premier League and on the brink of qualification for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. Chelsea, meanwhile, will be glad to return to domestic action after boss Antonio Conte endured a humiliating return to Italy in Tuesday night's 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Roma. A win on Sunday would be crucial if the Blues are to be considered genuine title contenders, given that they are currently nine points off the top of the table.

How are we shaping up? Since suffering a first defeat of the season at Huddersfield Town, United have recorded three successive victories over Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur and Benfica across all competitions. The boss will now look to ensure his charges continue our strong domestic form, which has yielded seven wins from 10 league games so far.

How are Chelsea doing? The Blues aredesperate to bounce back after suffering an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Roma in midweek in a Champions League game which, if they had won, would have secured their place in the last 16. Conte’s men have been solid in front of their own fans of late and were unbeaten at the Bridge last month, beating Everton 2-1 in the Carabao Cup in their last outing at home. However, Stamford Bridge has not been the fortress it was during their title-winning campaign last term, with the Blues having already lost to both Burnley and Manchester City. They have already conceded 10 goals in as many Premier League matches this term and endured a defensive nightmare on Tuesday.

Any team news? Jesse Lingard came off with a back problem on Tuesday but Mourinho said it was “nothing important”. There is still no further news on Marcos Rojo, Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini. Meanwhile, the Blues will be without Victor Moses, who has been sidelined since mid-October with a hamstring injury, and N’Golo Kante, who scored in both home encounters against United in the league and FA Cup last term. He has not played since sustaining a thigh injury on international duty with France last month.

Reunions for four Reds: Mourinho won’t be the only familiar face for Chelsea fans. Nemanja Matic joined United from the Stamford Bridge club in the summer to link up with Jose, while Romelu Lukaku is another former Blues player. Of course, Juan Mata was also once a popular figure among the Chelsea fans in west London, prior to his January 2014 transfer to United. 

What’s Mourinho’s record against Chelsea? The boss has had mixed results when coming up against his former club. While in charge of Inter Milan in 2010, he guided his team to victories in both legs of their Champions League tie against the Blues. Last season, Chelsea ran out 4-0 winners in the league and knocked United out of the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge, but the Reds came out on top in the most recent meeting between the sides, winning 2-0 back in April thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera.

How about our record against them? United have won 76 of the 177 previous meetings in all competitions, stretching as far back as Christmas Day in 1905. Chelsea have registered 52 wins in that time and the two clubs have played out 49 draws. In the Premier League era, the Blues just edge it, with 17 wins to United’s 14 in the 50 occasions the two have met in the competition. United have found it notoriously difficult at Stamford Bridge in recent times and will be hoping to record a first win over the Blues in West London since 2012.