Elmwood Park Soccer

By: Peri Witny
Chelsea are three points behind the Reds while Manchester United are far back with seven but they have two games at hand. A win by Chelsea inures that the Blues shall increase their lead to seven points over the Red Devils as both teams try to overtake the Reds. The match could very well be the one that shall decide the title race for the three teams.

Chelsea and Man U are out to upstage each other in their hopes of winning the game to erase the memory of forgetful performances during the FA and Carling cup ties respectively.

Chelsea was held to a 1-1 draw by Coca-Cola League One team Southend with Salomon Kalou’s first half goal negated by an equalizer from Peter Clarke at the late minutes of the match played at Stamford Bridge. That earned the Shrimpers a third round cup replay, a game which will be played at the Shrimpers’ ground, the Roots Hall. The football match will be the Blues’ next game on the 14th of January. On the other hand, Man U are seeking a better football result than the unexpected 1-0 loss they suffered at the hands of Derby County at Pride Park for a spot to claim the Carling Cup to be played in Wembley Stadium.  Kris Commons produced an impressive first half strike during the semi-final first leg ending United’s unbeaten run to 14 games in all fronts. The streak saw them win eight games and draw the remaining four. Their last loss in all competitions was the 2-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal last November 8.

Man U shall play host to the Blues with Chelsea being the first team to be a part of the big four to visit Old Trafford for this year. The last time the two teams met was at Stamford Bridge, in a 1-1 draw. Park Ji-Sung scored with a 17th minute strike while Salomon Kalou answered for the Blues with a second half goal. The game was quite physical with a total of eight yellow cards given by referee Mike Riley. However, United players received most of the cards with seven while Jan Mikel Obi was the only player booked for Chelsea.  Ever since the two teams contested the Premier League and Champions League titles last season with United winning both titles, there seems to be a competitive rivalry brewing between the two.

For the Sunday clash, Man U can expect that Patrice Evra shall return to the side after serving out his four game match ban as a result of the brawl he was involved in with the Chelsea groundskeeper. A concern though for sir Alex Ferguson shall be the fitness of Rio Ferdinand, who continues to suffer from a back injury, Wayne Rooney, who limped out in the dying seconds of the game against Derby and Cristiano Ronaldo, who was in a car accident that wrecked the front of his car but escaped unhurt.

Latest football results this weekend can be seen at Scorespro.com.