The name on the lips of many Chelsea fans in the lead up to this weekend will be that of Alex Pato.
The forward has made a well-publicised loan move to Chelsea and he wasn’t selected in the squad that faced Watford on Wednesday – for obvious reasons of fatigue after a long and emotional week.
But he may well get a place in the squad this weekend. We would be surprised if he started but equally surprised if he wasn’t at least named on the bench.
And, lest we forget, this is a player who has the power to change tight games. In fact, it could well be to Chelsea’s advantage to start him on the bench and bring him on with 20-30 minutes to go.
Newcomers often do so well in their first season because of the element of surprise – opponents are yet to understand the movement of the player and this lack of familiarity can lead to goals.
So wouldn’t it just be typical of another crazy Premier League season if Pato came off the bench and hit the winner? It would immediately endear him to the Chelsea faithful and buy him some more time to bed in.
And how Chelsea need the wins right now. Guus Hiddink is yet to lose a game since taking the job for a second time but he hasn’t won enough games either and the goalless draw at Watford was symptomatic of that.
We think that The Blues will go for it against United and, fitness permitting, here is how we think that they may line up.
Chelsea fans: your best available XI?
