United Odds-On For Chelsea Victory

The big fixture this weekend is easily the early match on Sunday as Sir Alex Ferguson's high-flying Manchester United side play host to Chelsea – who just don't look to be the force they've been over the past few years. It really speaks to the changing nature of the Premier League that, while the clash is certainly an important one, it is devoid of that make-or-break attitude that used to permeate this match-up.

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United are the odds-on favourites for this one with a 5/6 listing floated by most major bookmakers. Andre Villas-Boas' men are trading at a hefty 7/2 and Blues fans will struggle to find another price like that over the course of the season.

Naturally, you can expect all eyes to be on Fernando Torres, who is still yet to score despite factoring into both of Chelsea's goals in the midweek Champions League fixtures. Manchester City will doubtlessly be hoping for a draw, but you can expect United's younger Premier League to take the field in this one as opposed to the methodical and slightly disorganized display we saw from the 4-5-1 brigade against Benfica on Wednesday.

It really speaks to how important Anderson has become to the United side when you are forced to watch Carrick and, to a lesser extent, Fletcher pass the ball sideways or backwards the entire match. Anderson's direct running and ability to distribute the ball effectively has been a key ingredient in shaking up the opposition in these opening fixtures.

The amount of pace currently on offer in United's midfield is indicative of a new approach from the gaffer and you can expect a much different lineup than what we saw in the Champions League. Expect Dimitar Berbatov to factor in this one with Chicharito likely starting on the bench. Deploying Rooney by himself simply doesn't work anymore as he tends to drop too deep.

Chelsea will need to grab the first goal to have any chance of an upset in this one.