It will be an early opportunity to assess their respective title credentials following an intriguing summer which has seen managerial changes at both cubs, as well as Manchester City.
United cruised to top spot last term but the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and return to Chelsea of Mourinho has left many thinking that Moyes will be hard pressed to keep the trophy at Old Trafford.
The reigning champions were also given a difficult set of fixtures at the start of the season, including trips to Anfield and the Etihad Stadium in September, to increase the pressure on Moyes.
But United successfully negotiated a potentially tricky journey to Swansea City on the opening day to emerge 4-1 victors thanks to a wonderful exhibition of finishing from Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck, and Moyes will now be looking for the first win of his career against Mourinho.
The Portuguese will also sense an opportunity to strike a psychological blow with a victory at Old Trafford, and there have already been signs of his customary mind games ahead of the match when he suggested that United's title success lacked style.
Mourinho has also made no secret of his desire to sign Wayne Rooney from Manchester United, although he stressed last week that it would not be ethical to make a third approach for the striker until after Monday's fixture.
Chelsea have already been far busier in the transfer market than United and have been in fine form in their opening two games of the season to go top of the table.
Having strolled to a 2-0 triumph against Hull City, the Blues then battled past Aston Villa 2-1 in a match brought forward because of their involvement in Friday's UEFA Super Cup against Bayern Munich.
They have a chance to stretch their lead at the summit to three points with a win at Old Trafford and would go six ahead of United, although victory for the hosts would put them back on top.
No comments:
Post a Comment