Jose Mourinho has been the topic of conversation amongst Chelsea fans over the past week, with rumors of the Portuguese's return to Stamford Bridge gathering pace.
However, on Sunday, the interim manager Rafa Benitez, who just won the English Premier League Manager of the Month award for April, will again have to tune out his own fans when Chelsea travel to Old Trafford to take on Premier League champions Manchester United.
The Blues are in pole position to finish in third this season, and currently have 65 points from 34 games, one more than Arsenal, who have played a game more. Tottenham are fifth on 62 points, but like Chelsea have a game in hand.
The crucial game of the season for the top-four places will be Wednesday at Stamford Bridge, when Chelsea and Spurs face off.
However, before that, for Chelsea, there is the simple matter of trying to pick up all three points at Old Trafford, something which has been achieved only once since September when Manchester City beat their Manchester rivals last month.
United put a dent in Arsenal's hopes of finishing in the top-four last weekend, and the English Premier League champions will again look to play spoilsport, this time to Chelsea.
United at least had something to go for last Sunday against Arsenal at the Emirates, with Sir Alex Ferguson's side chasing the Premier League's all-time points record of 95, set by Mourinho's Chelsea.
However, with that record no longer possible following the 1-1 draw against the Gunners, Ferguson will look for other avenues of motivating his side.
Ferguson's rivalry with Benitez goes back a long way, and the manager will be desperate to get one over the Spaniard, having been recently beaten by Benitez and Chelsea in the F.A. Cup quarterfinals, which then ended United's hopes of completing a league and cup double.
The United manager stoked the fire of their rivalry by having a dig at Benitez; even though he did acknowledge Chelsea have been quite good in the last couple of months.
"He is very concerned about his CV," Ferguson said. "He refers to it quite a lot.
"But you can't dispute the fact he has done a good job in the last few weeks.
"The key to it is that the fans have settled down a little bit. They have left him alone and he has got on with managing his job.
"It can't be easy, listening to pressure from the fans all the time. They have eased up. It has allowed him to relax and they have produced some good results.
"When they sacked Roberto Di Matteo that maybe knocked them back a bit. It took them a long time to get going again.
"It's only been in the last few weeks that they've got any consistency and this has been the best part of their season."
United will welcome back Paul Scholes for the first time since January, while Nemanja Vidic is also expected to feature after recovering from a calf strain. Danny Welbeck, though, is ruled out with a knee problem.
Benitez has a full squad to choose from, apart from long-term absentee Oriol Romeu, with the likes of Ashley Cole and Demba Ba, who missed the Europa League semifinal second leg against Basel, returning.
The last time the two sides met at Old Trafford, United were seemingly on their way to the semifinals of the F.A. Cup, before a furious fightback from the Blues forced a replay.
Chelsea have a lot more to lose on Sunday, and with Benitez finally looking like he has got some kind of control over his squad, this might be as good a time as any to get the better of United at the Theatre of Dreams.
Expected lineups: Manchester United: De Gea; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Nani; Rooney, Van Persie.
Chelsea: Cech; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cole; Mikel, Ramires; Oscar, Mata, Hazard; Ba.
Prediction: 2-2
