No team has been able to really stop the Chelsea juggernaut in the English Premier League this season, with the Blues holding a near-perfect record after eight games. Sir Alex Ferguson will urge his team to lay down a convincing marker when Manchester United visit Stamford Bridge for the weekend's big clash.
Recent history is against United, though, even if they might believe they stand a good chance of picking up all three points against Chelsea - the Red Devils have not won a single game since the 2001-02 season at the Blues' home ground. That is a statistic that Ferguson will be keen to wipe clean and along with making statement of intent - the away side have plenty to play for.
"It's an amazing record but it'll change, sometime -- hopefully on Sunday," Ferguson said. "Last season we were actually very unlucky. In the main I don't think we've played badly. The games that we've lost, not last year, but in the years before that, we actually played well in only to get bad decisions against us.
"Last season we did really well to rescue it after being 3-0 down. I think we scored three goals in about eight minutes or something like that. We should have won it really. We were the better team in the first half yet we were 3-0 down just after half-time.
"It was amazing. Apart from last season if you look at the last six or seven seasons before that it was always us and Chelsea vying for the title so that gives you an idea of how we'll approach this game on Sunday -- it's going to be hard one."
Chelsea, however, this season have a fresher look to them - with their trio of playmakers making watching the Blues worthwhile, which was not exactly the case last year.
If the Blues are to get a positive result, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata will need to put on their big-game shoes and arrive in style to the party. Fernando Torres has not scored in a few matches, and needs a goal to get back his confidence, which has been lacking in the last couple of weeks.
Chelsea were poor against Shakhtar Donetsk in Wednesday's Champions League game, something acknowledged resoundingly by the entire team. However, winning teams are known to quickly put disappointments behind them and move onto the next game without carrying any of the baggage from the loss and also more importantly learning from the mistakes.
Roberto Di Matteo, for all his critics, knows how to win games, and in his first match in charge against United at home, the Italian will love nothing more than to put one over the experienced Scot.
Ferguson said in his pre-match press conference Chelsea had become a little one-dimensional with their new system - playing entirely through the middle of the park, particularly having lost the option of lumping the ball to the magnet that was Didier Drogba. However, Di Matteo has been able to build his team around the new system quite decently so far, and with more games, the Blues are bound to get even better.
United have also played in a different position in the last few games - with the diamond formation very much coming into the forefront. Ferguson is known to play with wingers more often than not, but with the success enjoyed in the new formation, the manager will be in a bit of a conundrum - whether to take advantage of the lack of width among Chelsea players by deploying some of his own, or whether to stick to the compact midfield and allow the likes of Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie to express themselves.
Van Persie, in particular, will fondly remember his last trip to Stamford Bridge - a 5-3 win for Arsenal and a hat-trick for himself. Ferguson has been heavily relying on the attacking prowess of his team to rescue them from tricky situations - they have conceded the first goal in eight of their last 12 games.
Conceding first against Chelsea, however, might prove costly, with the Blues capable of defending well with a goal in front and also equally lethal on the counterattack with their own attacking options.
"They are conceding a few goals and we have a big threat as well and we will try to explore those weaknesses," Di Matteo said. "We know Man United very well and it's going to be a tough game. They are always very difficult games and we have to take advantage of playing at home and play with the belief and confidence we've been playing with so far."
Frank Lampard will be unavailable, with the experienced midfielder set to miss out a month's action due to a calf strain, while Marko Marin is expected to be included in the squad. John Terry continues to serve out his four-match suspension.
For Manchester United, Shinji Kagawa will be out of action for three-four weeks after twisting his knee in Tuesday's Champions League game against Braga, but Ferguson will welcome the likes of Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand after resting them for the Champions League match.
Both teams, to a certain extent, will rely on their firepower going forward, and that should make the match entertaining. If Sunday's game is going to be anything like the dramatic 3-3 draw from last year - and the result is a real possibility with all the attacking talent in view - the fans are in for a real treat!
Expected lineups: Chelsea: Cech, Cole, Cahill, Luiz, Ivanovic, Mikel, Ramires, Hazard, Oscar, Mata, Torres.
Manchester United: De Gea, Evra, Ferdinand, Evans, Rafael, Carrick, Cleverley, Valencia, Rooney, Van Persie, Welbeck.
Prediction: 3-2 to United
