Sunday's featured Premier League matchup offers a battle of two elite clubs, when Chelsea travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

The match features two high-profile managers, and two clubs eager to take home silverware this season.

What can be expected from this much-anticipated encounter?

It will be a very intense match. Both clubs go into Sunday with a lot to prove, particularly Chelsea considering this is Andre Villas-Boas's first opportunity to prove he can compete with a Premier League giant. Manchester United have a squad that is good enough to go the entire season without a loss at Old Trafford, so an early season loss would be very demoralizing.

Experienced Chelsea stars Frank Lampard and Jason Terry are rested and will be a stable force in this match. They are both well acquainted with playing at Old Trafford, so there won't be many surprises for them. David Luiz, who saw his first appearance of the season against Bayer Leverkusen, should be in fine form.

The player that will shine for the Blues will be Juan Mata. The clever midfielder will be up for the challenge of battling with his idol Ryan Giggs, and has the skills and confidence to outplay Ashley Young, Nani, and Anderson.

Don't expect Fernando Torres to see much time, if any at all. Though the air has been cleared between the forward and Villas-Boas, Torres is not the goal-scoring machine that Chelsea hoped for.

The Red Devils have a somewhat questionable back four. Without Vidic and Rafael, and considering Ferdinand may not be at 100 percent, that leaves only Patrice Evra playing in a regular starting role and fully fit. Chris Smalling will play right back, though the 21-year-old has looked more comfortable as a centre back. Phil Jones has performed well, but teenagers are often prone to mistakes. With De Gea having shown some lapses of confidence, Chelsea have a talented group of attackers that could exploit holes in United's defense.

Where Sir Alex Ferguson's squad will step up is with Rooney. The star forward has too much pride to not be at his best against a rival like Chelsea, and after performing like he was invisible for portions of the Benfica match.

Ferguson will also get help from his bench. A talented player who is itching to make his presence felt is forward Dimitar Berbatov. At times the Bulgarian has appeared lackadaisical, but at this point he has no choice but to put his best effort in full view.

PREDICTION: Chelsea get an unlikely goal from Ramires, but United score before halftime with Petr Cech overcome by multiple efforts from Rooney and Hernandez. In the second half, Chelsea won't show signs of fatigue as Luiz and Terry will do a fine job of thwarting United's attack, while Mata and Lampard will eventually find Nicolas Anelka who will put the Blues ahead. But the surprising hero for the Red Devils will be Berbatov, who proves he deserves more playing time by scoring in the final minutes.

PREDICTED SCORE: Manchester United 2, Chelsea 2

Manchester United