Ahead of Saturday's crucial clash at Old Trafford, Abraham Rajadurai believes Wayne Rooney's absence has handed Chelsea the advantage.
By Abraham Rajadurai
One point ahead, six games left and Manchester United have lost the goose that lays them golden eggs.
Without Wayne Rooney leading the attack for the showdown with Chelsea on Saturday, Sir Alex Ferguson's brow will be knotted tighter than the cornrows adorning Florent Malouda's head.
The Sun newspaper reported Nemanja Vidic as saying he is confident languid Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berabatov is more than capable of filling in for Rooney: "Berba showed what he could do at Bolton. He had a great game.
"Also this season we have shown we play as a team. We need to believe in ourselves and believe in each other."
Vidic also pointed out that Berbatov is a bully, and he does well against weaker oppositions but, crucially, often fails to shine when pitted against the best.
True, the Bulgarian's first touch and ball control is second to none. True, he finds space intelligently and true, he has a knack of knowing where his teammates are without a second look, but - and here's the crunch - throw in a tough tackling, no-nonsense defensive pair like John Terry and Alex and the Bulgarian has a tendency to fade into obscurity.
Carlos Ancelotti's central defensive pair must have breathed a sigh of relief when news of Rooney's ankle injury reached them. Ancelotti himself might have been doing an early victory jig when he saw Rooney on the ground clutching his ankle towards the end of United's Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
Ancelotti is an intelligent man and his comments about United not having Rooney for this fixture reek of mind games. although they seem to be pertinent enough: "A team can give more than 100 per cent when a very important player is out, and so we have to pay attention to this - because I think Manchester United have the experience and the players to support the absence of Wayne Rooney."
Berbatov however, will not be hassling Chelsea for possession, he will not be chasing down lost causes and he definitely will not be want to take the knocks Rooney does.
The Red Devils claim they have enough quality in their ranks to fill in the boots of Rooney, nevertheless, they don't have a single player currently enjoying the same dynamic form as Rooney.
Ferguson may turn to his Welsh wizard, Ryan Giggs, to lead the attack.
However, Ryan Giggs will not be able to making continuous runs as he did in his youth, Nani blows hot and cold, Antonio Valencia seems to have lost his sharpness in front of goal and Park Ji-sung is more industrious than creative.
Ferguson may look to his youngsters to shine, with Federico Macheda back from injury and the bullish Mame Biram Diouf waiting in the wings to prove his worth. However, none seem to possess the edge that is needed to decide a fixture of this magnitude.
In a make or break of fixture a moment of brilliance may be all it takes to decide who emerges victorious.
Chelsea do have a fit and raring-to-go poacher in Didier Drogba and a fantastic lethal weapon in Nicolas Anelka. Despite United finally having the luxury of Rio Ferdinand and Vidic partnered in the centre, the two have yet to shake off the rust and emulate last season's performances, displays that had everyone raving.
It seems highly unlikely that Drogba will be shackled well enough to not have a sniff at United's goal, and it is in fixtures such as this that Drogba regularly shines.
Losing Rooney could see United surrender their ambitions to land a fourth successive Premier League trophy. Advantage Chelsea? Maybe, just maybe.
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