Football | Barclays Premier League | United gear up for crunch Blues tie

Friday 3rd February 2012

United gear up for crunch Blues tie

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has called on his side to be prepared for a difficult match with old rivals Chelsea on Sunday.

Despite going level on points with Manchester City at the top of the table, Ferguson's side have lost their last two league trips to Stamford Bridge.

Ferguson told club magazine Inside United: "Games at Chelsea in the last few years have been tough and we've had terrible luck there which has caused us disappointing results."

With away matches against Manchester City and Tottenham to follow, Ferguson insisted his players were ready.

"The players know what they need to do," he said. "They know their responsibilities and the standard and expectation at the club, and they have to carry those things with them when they go into games."

Chelsea go into the contest seven points behind third-placed Tottenham after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Swansea but manager Andre Villas-Boas claims they can close the gap.

"A seven-point gap is nothing in the Premiership," he said.

Tottenham will be paying close attention to events on Sunday, before they travel to Anfield to face a rejuvenated Liverpool side on Monday night.

Memories of the reverse fixture in September will still haunt Liverpool fans, when they collapsed 4-0 at White Hart Lane.

Despite manager Harry Redknapp being in court all week, Tottenham recorded a 3-1 victory over Wigan as well as signing Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen ahead of the deadline.

Rooted to the bottom of the table, Wigan will come up against a buoyant Everton side, fresh from beating league leaders Manchester City thanks to a superb strike from new signing Darron Gibson.

After slipping up against Everton, City return home to face Fulham. It is a daunting task for the Cottagers, who have recorded only one away win all season and conceded a late equaliser to West Brom in their last game.

Without a win in the league since December, West Brom have the chance to jump above mid-table rivals Swansea.

The Swans have won praise from many within the game and will be looking to heap further misery on Roy Hodgson's men.

Djibril Cisse, who scored on his QPR debut in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, will be looking to add to his tally against a troubled Wolves side, who shipped three against Liverpool in their last fixture.

After coming back from 2-0 down to claim a point against the Rs, Villa face another stiff test against Newcastle, who pulled to within three points of fourth-placed Chelsea with a 2-0 win over Blackburn.

Blackburn go to the Emirates to face an Arsenal side desperate to get back on track after a disappointing 0-0 draw with Bolton, who themselves face a reeling Norwich side reeling from a 3-0 reverse to Sunderland.

Black Cats striker Frazier Campbell, back in the side after an 18-month injury nightmare, scored a screamer against the Canaries and will be looking to make in three goals in as many games at Stoke.