On Sunday at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea host Manchester United with the West London club looking to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal.
The Blues sit just two points behind Arsenal, and alongside Manchester City, the three aforementioned teams make up the front-runners for this seasons Premier League title.
However the reigning Champions, Manchester United, are nowhere to be seen.
If you scan down the PL standings, you will see the Red Devils in seventh place as David Moyes’ first-season in charge at Old Trafford has hardly been ideal. Taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson was always going to be difficult and its proved that, and then some, for Moyes.
But Chelsea Jose Mourinho, who many thought would get the nod to succeed Fergie, is sending out a stark warning to his Chelsea side ahead of Sunday’ blockbuster clash: Underestimate the Red Devils at your peril.
“We will play against a team that is 11 points behind the leader, we will play against the champions, we will play against Man United,” Mourinho said. “On many occasions the team looks to be in the most difficult situation is the team that appears stronger inn that match. That’s why I consider this game is especially dangerous to us.”
If Mourinho’s Chelsea win on Sunday, the Portuguese maestro will be the quickest manager to reach 100 PL wins as he will have achieved the feat in just 142 matches. He will overtake Sir Alex Ferguson’s record of bringing up 100 win in 162 games, as the links between Mourinho and United continue to blossom up during his managerial career. It wa sof course with FC Porto back in 2003 that Moruinho burst onto the managerial scene and stunned United with his sides last-gasp win and his extravagant celebrations.
(MORE: RVP and Wayne Rooney out of Manchester United’s clash with Chelsea)
Back to the present day, Chelsea are in fine-form after winning four in a row and eight of their last ten. Those results has seen Mourinho’s young squad surge back into title contentions, but the ‘Special One’ is playing it cool when it come to talk of another PL title heading to Stamford Bridge.
“We are not desperate to win the title,” Mourinho said. “We think that we are building a future. Step-by-step we are going, the team is getting some fine results, the team is improving and we are going to fight for the title until the end.”
Way back in August 2004 Mourinho’s first home game in charge of Chelsea yielded a win against Manchester United, thank to Eidur Gudjohnsen’s strike, and he still has an unbeaten home record in the Premier League. During his two separate spells with the Blues, his PL home record reads: 55 wins, 15 draws, 0 defeats.
Will Mourinho’s incredible 70-game unbeaten run at home come to an end against the team it started against?
Beware of the wounded animal, Jose.
