Chelsea v Man United preview

For the past six years this fixture has all but decided the fate of the Barclays Premier League trophy but tonight's Stamford Bridge encounter pales into insignificance following Chelsea's decline in fortunes this season.

Back in December when the two sides were due to clash, postponed due to wintry weather 10 weeks ago, Sir Alex Ferguson described the game as 'probably the most important game of the season' - since then Sir Alex has seen United's lead grow from three to 15 points. What a difference two months have made.

Don't get me wrong, this is still a massive game for both sides. If Manchester United win for the first time at the Bridge for nearly nine years, they would stretch into an insurmountable seven-point lead over Arsenal, having played one more game. Even a draw would surely please most United fans, since the Reds have failed to score in five of the last seven visits to the Blues.

As for Carlo Ancelotti's side, well this is their last shot (no pun intended) at retaining their title, with a game in hand over their north-west of England rivals. Chelsea lie fifth in the Premier League, five points behind third-placed Manchester City and two adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham. At the very least, three points tonight will lift Chelsea's hopes of securing a top-four place and qualification for next season's Champions League.

But despite United's poor record in the capital, the omens certainly look good for Sir Alex's side tonight. When the Blues last finished outside the top four at the end of the 2001/2002 season, it was a campaign which saw United record their last Premier League victory at the Bridge in a 3-0 win. United also took the early bragging rights in their last encounter with Chelsea back in August, when winning 3-1 in the Community Shield at Wembley.

Hernandez scored twice against Wigan on Saturday

United have been disappointing this season but have only lost once in 27 games, compared to Chelsea's seven defeats from 26 - and worryingly for tonight's home side, the Red Devils looked back to their best following Saturday's four-goal thrashing of Wigan at the DW Stadium. All three of United's strikers are beginning to find the back of the net at the most important time of the season with 11 matches to go. Javier Hernandez was presented with a starting berth on Saturday and scored twice, Wayne Rooney has netted three in his last four league games, and Dimitar Berbatov remains the leading Premier League goalscorer with 19 goals.

However, the same cannot be said for Chelsea's forward line who have shot themselves in the foot of late. The Blues failed to break down a Fulham side in their last Premier League fixture and were fortunate to leave Craven Cottage with a share of the spoils following Clint Dempsey's last-minute penalty miss. Yes, they took care of their first leg Champions League tie against a poor FC Copenhagen side a week ago thanks to goals from Nicholas Anelka, but more importantly, Roman Abramovich is still waiting for a return on his £50m spent on record signing Fernando Torres - a striker who has failed to score in his first four appearances for the club. Abramovich may want to find the receipt or at least ask Ashley 'Action Man' Cole to give Torres some advice on how to shoot on target? Come to think of it, probably not the best idea after blasting the ball high and wide in Chelsea's FA Cup penalty shoot-out loss to Everton two weeks ago. 

Cole has given Chelsea a headache this week

Funnily enough, it all started to go wrong for Chelsea when Torres, formerly of Liverpool, netted twice in the 2-0 defeat at Anfield on November 7. Following that, was a 3-0 defeat at home to Sunderland and 1-0 loss away to Birmingham in the space of two weeks - and since then they have failed to hit top form. But there is no denying Torres' ability, just ask United defender Nemanja Vidic who has been tormented by the Spaniard in recent years. He has scored three in his last four against United and will hope to repay the faith that Chelsea have shown in him by netting his first for the club tonight.

But there is no getting away from the fact that Chelsea are not the same team anymore. No one fears them. United are ready and if they can end their Stamford Bridge hoodoo tonight then they will be firmly in the driving seat to land their 12th Premier League title.