Afternoon. Last season we were treated to one of the most gripping title races of all time but it is already in danger of turning into a one-Jose racethis year - good news for Chelsea, bad news for people who waste their time debating which league is the best in the world. With Manchester City playing silly buggers against Sam Allardyce’s band of heroic Hammers yesterday, Chelsea will go eight points clear of their biggest rivals – and, lest we forget, six points clear of Southampton – with victory against Manchester United today. Everything is rosy in Jose Mourinho’s garden, so much so that he can’t really be bothered with picking fights with anyone at the moment. His heart wasn’t really in that row with Arsene Wenger - too easy now - and his complaints about players coming back injured from international duty aren’t exactly box office.  Mind you, he did have a point given that Diego Costa returned from Spain’s care with a groin injury to add to his already troublesome hamstrings, causing him to miss Chelsea’s past two matches against Crystal Palace and Maribor. Costa has also been in hospital with a virus, meaning that his involvement on the training ground has been minimal, and Mourinho had been saying that he did not expect him to be available today. Then Loic Remy injured his groin against Maribor, apparently leaving Mourinho with only Didier Drogba and Dominic Solanke as his fit forwards. Drogba, rusty against Maribor, is 36 and still finding his touch after an ankle injury, while Solanke is a kid; we had seen Chelsea’s vulnerability, the uncertainty surrounding the fitness of Costa, who was not spotted in the Chelsea party that arrived at Old Trafford earlier this afternoon. That would be great news for City if they hadn’t already lost to West Ham, leaving them in need of a favour from United.  They may well end up disappointed. For a start, the early indications are that Radamel Falcao is out after picking up a knock in training but United’s problems go further than that. Whereas Chelsea have conceded eight goals in eight league matches, keeping four clean sheets in their past five matches in all competitions, United have shipped 12 in eight, including five in one game against Leicester City. Their attacking riches available to Louis van Gaal may be the envy of many but his defence continues to give him nightmares and everyone else encouragement. Opponents know that you do not have to work particularly hard to score against United. They have only kept one clean sheet this season, Chelsea have scored in every match this season. It makes United fun to watch, unless you happen to be Van Gaal.  One last thing: in case you hadn’t heard, Mourinho and Van Gaal worked together at Barcelona.
Minute-by-minute report: Robin van Persie rescued a point for Manchester United in stoppage time after Didier Drogba had given Chelsea the lead