Man United hosts Chelsea in likely title decider

Posted Thursday, May 05, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

LONDON (AP)—Manchester United hosts Chelsea on Sunday in a match likely to decide the outcome of the Premier League title, with the league leaders in inconsistent form and the defending champions on a roll.

United could effectively clinch a record 19th English championship with a victory but manager Alex Ferguson must decide whether to revert to the lineup that lost 1-0 at third-place Arsenal last weekend or trust in the players that reached the Champions League final on Wednesday.

A team showing eight changes outclassed Schalke 4-1 to reach a third Champions League final in four seasons, but Ferguson is still likely to give his first-choice players a chance to show that defeat to Arsenal was an aberration rather than a turning point in the title race.

“We lacked the same intensity as we normally do against Arsenal at the weekend,” United defender John O’Shea said. “We have already played Chelsea at home in the Champions League, so we know we will have to play well.

“Chelsea have hit a bit of form but we know we are a good team at home.”

Arsenal is at Stoke on Sunday and still has an outside chance of winning the title if United fails to win.

United is unbeaten at Old Trafford this season and beat Chelsea home and away in the Champions League quarterfinals but the Blues have momentum after a dismal midseason spell that seemed to have ended their hopes of retaining the title.

The same weekend United lost to Arsenal, Chelsea won a fifth straight Premier League match and could now move ahead of United on goal difference with two games remaining.

Still, Ferguson can recall the likes of Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic to face Chelsea.

Ferguson said that fullback Patrice Evra has recovered from a blow he took as a second-half substitute in Wednesday’s win over Schalke, while Rooney will be fit after sitting out the match to rest a tight hamstring.

“Patrice got a kick,” Ferguson said. “I was ready to substitute him but he said he was OK. Wayne will be all right. I wasn’t prepared to take a risk.”

Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti paired Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres in attack for last weekend’s 2-1 win over Tottenham but the Blues only won after Torres’ substitution and only one is likely to start at Old Trafford.

Arsenal needs victory at Stoke, which has beaten only relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers since reaching the FA Cup final, but could have a depleted midfield.

Captain Cesc Fabregas could miss a second straight match because of a thigh injury sustained in training last week, while Samir Nasri is trying to recover from the hamstring problem that forced his halftime substitution against United.

Central defender Johan Djourou could also miss out if he fails to get over a leg injury sustained in the same match.

Wolves host local rival West Bromwich Albion in Sunday’s other match.

Manchester City could effectively clinch a place in the Champions League on Saturday if it wins at Everton and Tottenham fails to beat visiting Blackpool. Blackpool already beat Spurs this season.

Also Saturday, it’s Aston Villa vs. Wigan, Bolton vs. Sunderland, Newcastle vs. Birmingham and last-place West Ham vs. Blackburn. West Ham is already three points from safety and will almost certainly be relegated at the end of the season if it loses.

Fulham hosts Liverpool on Monday.

Queens Park Rangers and Norwich have already filled the two automatic promotion spots in the League Championship, so Saturday’s final round of matches in the second tier will determine the order of the four teams behind them—and the semifinal fixtures in the promotion playoffs.

Cardiff, Swansea and Reading are guaranteed places, while sixth-place Nottingham Forest can only miss out if a combination of defeat at Crystal Palace and a win for Leeds at QPR produces a six-goal swing against it.