They top their Champions League group with four wins from four, have safely reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup and have lost just once in 10 games so far in the Premier League so you would be forgiven for thinking that everyone might be talking up Manchester United at the moment.
However, the perception that their style of play has retracted towards the dull and negative over the last three weeks has led to people looking at the achievements of Jose Mourinho's side in a very different way as they prepare to face his former club Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
11/5 for Utd and Chelsea to draw
What also hasn't helped matters has been Mourinho's decision to take on a small group of fans since last week's win over Tottenham, claiming they have not taken well to Romelu Lukaku's run of six games without a goal. Add in the Portuguese's dash to Madrid on Friday to appear in court over alleged tax fraud and it has made for a less than comfortable run-in to his return to SW6.
MAN UTD INJURIES
Mourinho will be left making a late decision on his side in the hope that he could get some familiar names back into his squad for the trip to Stamford Bridge.
Michael Carrick is nearing a return having stepped up his solo training earlier this week in recovery from a calf issue, while it is hoped that Marouane Fellaini could make himself available following a knee injury suffered during international duty with Belgium in October.
Elsewhere Phil Jones is expected to gain a recall having been rested against Benfica in light of his recent knee problem, but fellow centre-back Marcos Rojo will not be rushed ahead of a potential comeback from ACL damage on the other side of the forthcoming international break.
Mystery continues to surround Paul Pogba's return date from a hamstring problem but he is unlikely to feature against Chelsea as it stands, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be back in the next few weeks having missed seven months due to his ACL injury.
MAN UTD SUSPENSIONS
Neither side have any absentees due to suspension for Saturday's fixture, and both squads are also free of players sitting one booking shy of a first ban of the season.
MAN UTD POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
As has become his custom, Mourinho will likely start once more with a three-man backline to match up against Chelsea's shape.
He could even revert back to the same XI which started against Tottenham, with Marcus Rashford coming back in after seeing Anthony Martial favoured for the win over Benfica in midweek. The England forward could once again be pushed up alongside Lukaku with Henrikh Mkhitaryan being asked to link the midfield and attack from the No.10 spot.
CHELSEA TEAM NEWS
N'Golo Kante is the focus for Chelsea and signified that he is still 50/50 to make the match on Sunday, but Antonio Conte still remains hopeful that he will be fit enough to return after a week of training. The Blues will also still be without Victor Moses, who could be back after the international break as he recovers from the hamstring strain he suffered against Crystal Palace.
Danny Drinkwater is back in the squad to face his former club and he has made one start and two substitute appearances in the past two weeks, although he has yet to complete a full 90-minute match.
David Luiz is playing with a broken wrist but he also has been competing with bandages around his right knee. Chelsea have no other injuries but some players may be suffering from some tiredness after a busy month of fixtures in three competitions. There will, though, be a steely determination within the camp to sign off before the international break with a positive result after Tuesday's 3-0 hammering by Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS
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Chelsea have lost just one of their last 15 home Premier League games against Manchester United (W9 D5), with that defeat coming in Alex Ferguson’s final season (2-3 in October 2012).
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Manchester United’s 2-0 victory in their last meeting with Chelsea ended a run of 12 games without a win against them in all competitions. They last won back-to-back meetings with the Blues in September 2011.
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Under Jose Mourinho, Manchester United have lost five of their eight away Premier League games immediately after playing in Europe (W3), including their last three against Arsenal and Spurs in May and Huddersfield last month.
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Antonio Conte has won 112 points as Chelsea manager in his 48 Premier League games in charge, 11 points fewer than Jose Mourinho had at this point of his Chelsea managerial career (123). Mourinho lost just one of his first 48 Premier League games in charge of the club (W38 D9 L1), but Conte has already lost eight times (W36 D4 L8).
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During their three Premier League games during October, Manchester United had an xG total of just 1.78 but have allowed their opponents to post a cumulative xG total of 3.87 – meaning they have allowed their opponents more than double the chance quality they that have created themselves.
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21% of the total Premier League goals scored in the final 10 minutes of games this season (10/47) have been netted by Manchester United.
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Manchester United substitutes have scored seven goals and assisted four more (both league-high’s) this season so far – Anthony Martial has provided six of these 11 substitute goal involvements (four goals, two assists); more than any other player.
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Romelu Lukaku has scored 15 goals in 59 Premier League games against ‘big six’ opposition, averaging a goal every 295 minutes. His mins per goal ratio against non ‘big six’ opponents is 137 (77 goals in 137 apps).
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No goalkeeper has kept as many clean sheets in the ‘big five’ European leagues since the start of 2016-17 than Manchester United’s David De Gea (22).
TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME
The match at Stamford Bridge kicks off at 16:30GMT on Sunday, with TV coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League following immediately on from the 14:15 kick-off between Manchester City and Arsenal.
