Just when Manchester United were hitting the winning note consistently under Louis Van Gaal, that injury bug has hit them again, and that too at the worst possible time with an English Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge lying in wait.
Manchester United have been on a terrific run since their loss to Arsenal in the FA Cup quarterfinal, winning their last six Premier League matches, which includes positive results and performances against Liverpool and Manchester City.
If the show against Liverpool was good, the one against their crosstown rivals Manchester City last weekend was even better, with United completely outclassing the Premier League champions once they pulled the score back to 1-1.
The key to the winning run has been a settled side, with Van Gaal zoning in on a strong back-four, Michael Carrick as the holding midfielder/deep-lying playmaker, Ander Herrera, Juan Mata, Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini a little ahead with Wayne Rooney as the centre-forward.
However, Van Gaal will not have the option of choosing the same XI that thumped Manchester City 4-2, with Daley Blind, Carrick and Phil Jones all ruled out along with Marcos Rojo.
That means another patched up defence will be in order against Chelsea, with the Manchester United manager also having to figure out a way to find a suitable holding midfielder as both Carrick and Blind are out injured.
"Carrick is injured, he cannot play," Van Gaal told MUTV when asked about the team news. "But not only Michael Carrick -- Daley Blind, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo cannot play.
"It cannot be worse because it's two players in the left central defensive positions, and Jonny Evans is still suspended. Blind and Carrick play in the holding position in midfield, so I have to change my line-up a lot against Chelsea."
Chelsea will look at the injury problems for Manchester United as the perfect opportunity to take full advantage and three points on Saturday, and with it get themselves closer to winning the Premier League.
They currently lie seven and eight points clear of Arsenal, who do not play in the Premier League this weekend owing to their FA Cup semifinal, and Manchester United respectively, and a win will take them ever closer to that title.
"To play against Man United is to play against one of the biggest clubs in the world," said Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who will again be without his best striker in Diego Costa. "It's to play against one of the best teams in the Premier League, and I think this is what everybody wants. It is a special fixture. It's a big match.
"This week I was not worried about motivating players or demanding players to be focused on the game and the opponent because there is no need. It's an easy job."
While Van Gaal will be pondering over solutions to his injury worries, one player who will not need too much extra motivation to fell Chelsea will be Juan Mata, who was let go by Mourinho midway through last season.
Mata took a while to come into his own at Manchester United, but over the last few months, the Spaniard has looked very much like the player who lit up the Premier League with his performances for Chelsea.
Having scored against Liverpool and Manchester City, Mata will now look to find the back of the net against his former team as well, and if he does that, Manchester United will have a pretty good chance of coming away from Stamford Bridge with all three points.
Where to Watch Live
Chelsea vs Manchester United is set to begin at 5.30 pm BST (10 pm IST, 12.30 pm ET) with live coverage on TV in India on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports HD2. Catch the EPL match live in India on Starsports.com.
Viewers in the US can tune into Sky Sports 1 to watch Chelsea vs Manchester United, while the live stream option is on Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go. Audience in the US can watch the game live on NBC Sports, while the EPL action can also be live streamed on NBC Live Extra.
Audience in Australia can catch the EPL game live on Fox Sports, while the action can also be watched via live streaming on Foxtel and Fox Sports On Demand. Viewers in Canada can watch Manchester United play Chelsea live on Sportsnet and Watch Sportsnet.
