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Chelsea face Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday with a seven point lead at the top of the Premier League table and a game in hand.
With Arsenal in FA Cup action, victory for Jose Mourinho's team would extend their lead at the top of the table to 10 points ahead of Chelsea's visit to the Emirates - by the time the two teams play the title race could already be over.
But Chelsea are struggling for attacking fluency in 2015. Since their 5-0 win against Swansea on 17 January, the Blues have failed to win any of their Premier League games by more than a single goal; they are still picking up points but have failed to deliver a truly convincing performance.
Former colleagues Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal meet once more (Getty Images) Manchester United, however, are, along with Arsenal, the Premier League's form side. After chopping and changing his starting line-up for months, Louis van Gaal has finally found a team and formation that has the club looking like their old selves.
Since losing at Swansea in mid-February, United have won all six of their matches, putting in hugely convincing performances against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Chelsea are top of the league and United are the form team, but which players would get into a combined team if we were to mash the squads together?
With the news that four key Manchester United players have been ruled out of the game , this combined XI has been dramatically changed (United edged the first team with six players). The team has been selected, on form and quality, based on the below predicted line-ups:
Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Matic, Willian, Fabregas, Hazard, Remy.
Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, McNair, Smalling, Shaw, Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, Young, Di Maria, Rooney.
Scroll through our gallery to see the team:
Show all 11 1 /11Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI GK: David De Gea Thibaut Courtois has been excellent in his debut season in England but the Spaniard has been the division's form keeper. Behind what has been a shaky defence, De Gea has been unbeatable at times, winning a hat full of points for his side.
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Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI DR: Branislav Ivanovic The Serbian is the best right-back in the league but has started to look tired in recent weeks under a heavy workload - he's played every single minute in the Premier League this season. Antonio Valencia has performed better than expected at right-back but is stil weakness.
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Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI DC: Gary Cahill The England defender has recovered from a wobble in form to get back to his previous high level. Chris Smalling has been excellent in recent weeks, but has a bit to go before he can be considered on a par with Cahill.
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Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI DC: John Terry Terry remains the best central defender in the Premier League and has been vital to Chelsea's charge this season, and like Ivanovic has played every minute of every game. He'll need to have a good game to stop rampant Wayne Rooney.
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Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI LB: Cesar Azpilicueta Daley Blind was in the original team but now that he has been ruled out Azpilicueta gets the nod ahead of Luke Shaw, who will likely come in for the visitors. Azpilicueta has struggled in recent weeks but Shaw has had an up and down first season at United and hasn't managed to fully convince his manager.
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Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI CM: Nemanja Matic Like Blind, Carrick has been ruled out with injury and he originally filled this spot in the team. But now he is missing Matic comes in, with it not entirely clear which way Van Gaal will set up for the game at Stamford Bridge.
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Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI CM: Ander Herrera It was an ongoing mystery why Herrera was out of the team at the start of the season. Since he returned to the starting line-up at Preston, United have won seven out of their 10 games with Herrera scoring four vital goals from midfield. The Spaniard offers a drive and athleticism that was sorely lacking at the start of the season.
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Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI AM: Cesc Fabregas Fabregas has endured some criticism about his recent form, especially given the quality to his start to life at Stamford Bridge. But Fabregas has still played pretty well and proved last week he is a vital match-winner for the side. Marouane Fellaini has been great in recent weeks, but there are still some glaring weaknesses in his game.
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Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI RM: Juan Mata Chelsea should still be regretting the day they ever sold their former Player of the Year. Oscar, the man whom Jose Mourinho backed, has been poor for a while and is struggling to break into the starting XI. Mata, like Herrera, has shone since returning from his curious time in the wilderness. Willian needs to add more goals to his energetic game.
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Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI LM: Eden Hazard Ashley Young has arguably been Louis van Gaal's most consistent player, but Hazard is the frontrunner for the Player of the Year award. The Belgian has been nothing short of excellent all season and is Chelsea's biggest attacking threat.
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Chelsea vs Manchester United combined XI ST: Wayne Rooney With Diego Costa out this chjoice is a simple one - Rooney returning up front has been the biggest single cause for United's resurgence. Surprisingly that means United have more players in this combined XI, an indicator of the recent performances of the two sides.
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FINAL SCORE: Chelsea 7 Manchester United 4
This article has been updated to reflect injury news
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