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Alex Ferguson looks to set the record straight

Manchester: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson will miss duelling — and sharing bottles of wine — with Jose Mourinho.

What he will want to forget is United’s record against Mourinho’s largely impenetrable Chelsea force: just one win in six Premier League encounters.

With Mourinho’s three-year reign consigned to history, Ferguson can start to put things right on Sunday and give new manager Avram Grant an uncomfortable introduction to English soccer.

Blues fans are still scratching their heads at how the inexperienced Grant, who has never coached outside of his native Israel, could be entrusted with succeeding the self-styled “Special One” — a Champions League winner with Porto before he took charge at Stamford Bridge in 2004.

Some visiting fans have indicated plans to protest at Old Trafford, but Ferguson doesn’t anticipate the London club being affected by the turmoil.

“We are still playing Chelsea,” the Scot said on Friday. “It is still the same players and that in itself is a challenge for us. It’s always a difficult match.

“If you look at the record between the two teams over the last three or four years, there is nothing in it. Very few goals are scored and it’s a very tight game.”

Lack of firepower has been blamed for United’s stuttering start to its title defence.

United may be in fourth place, but has scored just four times. Only Derby (4) and Reading (3) have a worse record, and they are in the relegation zone.

Ferguson has to look back 13 matches — into last season — to find his side scoring more than once.

And last week’s victory at Everton was due to centre-back Nemanja Vidic.

“He got me four goals last season and has already got one this year,” Ferguson said. “I think he can easily get between five and 10 because he has got just the right qualities.”

Wayne Rooney’s return on Wednesday from injury in the 1-0 Champions League victory at Sporting Lisbon was encouraging, but Ferguson is still without midfielder Owen Hargreaves and captain Gary Neville.

“I don’t know what my preference in attack is because, at the moment, I don’t have any evidence,” he said. “What I do have is more ammunition to work with.

“Wayne and Carlos (Tevez) are getting fitter all the time and if Louis Saha stays fit, I have tremendous options, which is important because maybe we didn’t have that last year.”

Chelsea has its own injury problems with its top scoring duo of midfielder Frank Lampard (thigh) and striker Didier Drogba (knee) expected to be missing.

Drogba was the league’s leading scorer last season with 20 goals, while Lampard contributed 14.

Their absence may help United achieve its fourth straight league win, in addition to the rare away success in Europe.

“I think we are gradually getting towards something like our better form,” Ferguson said on Friday. “We’ve had to do with the knowledge that some of our players are on their way back and therefore I think we have achieved quite a bit in our last few games and that’s given us a reasonable platform to go into this game on Sunday.

“Four 1-0 victories is not what we are renowned for but nonetheless they are victories.

If we continue that consistency, we’ll get back to our normal position around about the top of the league.” For Chelsea, forward Salomon Kalou and Ukranian forward Andriy Shevchenko are likely to start.

“Like always, it’s difficult to go there,” Kalou said. “We’re training hard and are going with good spirits.

“Everyone is in the same place trying for the result. We are going in good spirits.

“We have to go there and play like normal, like we know we can, and give everything for the result.” New manager Grant was introduced to the media on Friday at Stamford Bridge, and made it clear he feels he is capable of dealing with the job. His first task as manager is probably one of the most difficult he could have had. However,

Claudio Ranieri began his reign in 2000 with a visit to Old Trafford on exactly the same date and managed to record a 3-3 draw.

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