Chelsea will make the first trip away from Stamford Bridge on Monday, kick-off at 21:00 hours (BST), for probably the most attractive game in the Premier League fixture list. Fans from across from world will be tuning in to watch the league big-guns lock horns at Old Trafford as both clubs look to add three vital points. -Premier League Table -

Former full-back Gary Neville, now an insightful Sky Sports analyst, recently warned David Moyes and the current team not to make the mistakes his Man United did in 2004 and 2005, allowing Chelsea to build an early lead in the title race.

'We left ourselves too much to do,' Neville recalled, 'and when we got into our stride the problem was we were too far behind to mount a challenge.' The Blues' 100 per cent start has already opened up a gap at the top, and a win in Manchester would place the Londoners six clear of one of our rivals after a handful of games.

Any psychological advantage created by the extra game and points cushion, though, would be quashed should Man United prevail on Monday evening. Chelsea-Villa had originally been scheduled for next weekend but instead the Blues face Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup in Prague on Friday.

As a result all the other Premier League sides will have caught up on matches in a week's time - and United are obviously not the only title contenders.

Historically Chelsea have a fine record at Old Trafford, sometimes making a mockery of the form books to earn a win: beating the European Champions in 1968, for instance, in 1977 through Bill Garner, or with Gavin Peacock's humbling of the Double winners in 1994. Lest we forget, we made our FA Cup final bow there in 1915 and Leeds were overcome in a replay 55 years later.

In the Premier League era Chelsea have earned six wins from 21 visits to the 'Theatre of Dreams' and drawn seven times - it has been Man United's most troublesome home fixture of the season.

The record points total that Sir Alex Ferguson used as a motivational target for his side last season was established by Jose Mourinho's side in the 3-1 comeback victory at United's home in May 2005. The Blues were also undefeated in four of our five meetings in all competitions during 2012/13.

Of course it has been all change at Old Trafford since the summer. Ferguson was a colossus in football and his departure will be felt like a small nation losing a lifelong leader, his lieutenants and diplomatic links all at the same time.

It will seem strange not to see the agile old gent shoving his kit man out of the way en route pitchside to castigate a referee. That is one of the last workplace images Mourinho will retain of his friend and adversary, from when Real Madrid won at Old Trafford last March.

That is if the Portuguese witnessed it: while United's grandee was venting spleen at officials about Nani's red card Mourinho was calmly scheming, warming up Luka Modric and reorganising his men to take instant advantage of the 10-man hosts. Within minutes Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo had overturned the 0-1 deficit and Real were in the quarter-finals.

Even the kit man, Albert Morgan, has departed now. New broom David Moyes once compared jousting with Mourinho's substitutions to playing chess with someone thinking several moves ahead: he failed to put the Portuguese in a tactical checkmate in any of their 10 tight encounters.

A fine example was in November 2004 when Moyes's Toffees were beaten 1-0 at the Bridge to send Chelsea top of the table for the first time. The Blues piled on the pressure with Duff and Robben raiding down the flanks, but Everton stood resolute.

From around the hour mark Mourinho made a series of changes - Kezman for Tiago, Geremi for Gudjohnsen and Huth for Duff - that were as far from like-for-like as possible and bore false witness to the manager's real intentions. Robben, who had switched wings, scored the only goal of the game after a lob from Gudjohnsen, who had been asked to drop deep. It was a masterclass that even Moyes must have appreciated.

The eyes and lenses of the media will also be on Wayne Rooney at this match. The Liverpudlian has faced Chelsea more than any other opposition over his career and scored nine goals against the Blues, although the first took five-and-a-half years to arrive.

In February last year he hit two in a 3-3 draw, though that was as a striker in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Since then he has been used more as a wide or central midfielder than a forward.

Chelsea are unbeaten in the Barclays Premier League in 10 games winning 26 points from the last 30.
We have won three and drawn one of our last four away top-flight league games.

Petr Cech's next clean sheet will be his 200th for the Blues. Peter Bonetti currently holds the club record with 208.

To meet the criteria for a clean sheet, a player has to play at least part of a game in which the club has not conceded a goal throughout. For example, after our 1-0 win at Reading in October 2006 Petr Cech, Carlo Cudicini and John Terry all qualified for one.

It is 16 months since Man Utd drew a league game at Old Trafford - the 4-4 draw to Everton in April 2012.

They haven't played out a goalless draw for 82 Premier League matches.

Man United have won 51 of their last 59 home Premier League matches, drawing three and losing five, two of which were to Chelsea.

Robin van Persie scored 30 per cent of United's league goals last term.

Man United gained 29 points from losing positions last season, the best record in the Premier League and the best in the top flight since Newcastle in 2001/02 (34).