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From Jose Mourinho’s wretched record against his former club, to Eden Hazard’s stellar form and Romelu Lukaku’s drought, we pick five keys stats ahead of Chelsea hosting Manchester United this weekend…
Saturday lunchtime sees a titanic tussle between two Premier League powerhouses that have collectively won 18 of the previous 26 Premier League titles.
Jose Mourinho returns to his old stomping ground as Chelsea’s most successful manager, having won seven major honours including three league titles across his two spells at Stamford Bridge.
United have not won any of their last eight visits to Chelsea and they have lost seven of those. It is even worse for Jose, who has lost all three of his return visits by an aggregate scoreline of 6-0.
United’s last victory was a 3-2 Premier League win in October 2012 under Sir Alex Ferguson – and that was their only Premier League win at Stamford Bridge in the last 16 years.
Unbeaten Chelsea have burst from the blocks this season and are currently seven points better off than at the same stage last season.
It is their best start to a season since Mourinho’s title winning-side four years ago and it has come after new boss Maurizio Sarri made obvious stylistic changes, most notably in their passing game.
Sarri’s men are currently averaging 12 per cent more possession than Antonio Conte’s side of last season and no Premier League team has completed more passes in the final third of the pitch this term.
But while Chelsea’s fortunes appear to be on the rise, it’s been a different story for Manchester United this season.
United’s comeback win against Newcastle last time out was their first win in five games. Had United lost that game, it would have been their worst ever Premier League start.
However, those precious three points pushed them up to eighth in the table – still seven points shy of Chelsea.
Mourinho’s side have won four of their eight Premier League games during this campaign and that win ratio is very similar to his overall time at Old Trafford.
Since joining United, Mourinho’s side have the lowest win rate of the top ‘big six’ clubs. His 56 per cent win percentage is a stark contrast to the 71 per cent win ratio during his first spell at Chelsea. So Jose needs to improve results.
Saturday’s game will see the Premier League’s most in-form player in Eden Hazard.
As well as topping the Premier League scoring chart with seven goals, he has also become the first player to record 10 goal involvements in the competition this season, with three assists in addition to his goal haul.
Hazard is currently producing more under Sarri than ever before in a Premier League campaign, averaging a goal or an assist every 58 minutes – by far the best ratio of his top-flight career.
He is also converting more chances and contributing to open play more than in any previous season, recording more touches and shot per 90 minutes.
If he carries on at this rate, he would finish the season with 33 goals and 14 assists in the league, which would equal a Premier League record for goal involvement.
While Chelsea’s No 10 can’t stop scoring, it is quite the opposite for his international team-mate Romelu Lukaku.
United’s No 9 has failed to score in his last six club appearances and the Belgian has actually scored more international goals than club goals this season – five for Belgium and four for United.
The former Chelsea man will also be looking to end his Stamford Bridge goal drought.
Lukaku has now failed to find the net in over 11 hours of playing time at Stamford Bridge across 12 appearances – including four visits as an opposing player and eight appearances with Chelsea.
It is a fascinating showdown filled with endless subplots and it will be live from 11.30am on Sky Sports Premier League this Saturday. On Sunday, Everton host Crystal Palace from 3.30pm – also on Sky Sports Premier League
