After Red Monday proved to be Dead Monday, many are hoping Manchester United's trip to Chelsea on Sunday, the highest-profile Premier League match-up of the weekend and our Fixture in Focus here at FootballFanCast, will provide the entertainment this week's North West derby abundantly lacked.

Subplots are aplenty ahead of this weekend's clash at Stamford Bridge, not least including Jose Mourinho returning to the club his trophy-laden career is most synonymous with to face the team that appeared to turn their collective back on him last season just when everybody expected the start of a Chelsea title dynasty.

Yet, we at FootballFanCast don't want to get your hopes up. And whilst we're as keen as anyone to see a multi-goal thriller in west London that quickly cements itself as a modern day Premier League classic, the chances are that Mourinho's return to the Bridge will result in an unwatchable stalemate.

NEITHER SIDE CAN AFFORD TO LOSE

Take a quick look at the Premier League table. After inconsistent starts to the season, Chelsea and United find themselves in fifth and seventh place respectively. And whilst a win would propel either side back to the forefront of the Premier League title race (the Blues are only three points off the division's summit), defeat would be borderline disastrous - especially in United's case - cutting them adrift from the rest of the pack and suggesting Champions League qualification is the best they can hope for this season.

After spending small fortunes during the summer to mark their arrivals at new clubs, neither manager will be prepared to risk such a scenario. Refraining from taking risks in both dugouts usually results in a scoreless draw.

MOURINHO'S SHOWN HIS AWAY DAY GAME-PLAN

Some professed a different Mourinho would turn up at Old Trafford, a consequential combination of how his rigid tactics corroded Chelsea in such a short space of time and Manchester United's philosophical tradition of attacking football.

But 'The Special One' proved on Monday night that he's more than prepared to stick 11 men behind the ball to grind out a point, especially when facing a high-profile opponent on the road.

And if Mourinho was determined to avoid defeat against Liverpool, he'll be even more intent on doing so upon his return to west London. The Portuguese has always been an incredibly proud man and will do anything not to lose face against his former employers.

NEITHER SIDE IN GREAT ATTACKING FORM

Chelsea enter this fixture off the back of two straight wins but their form hasn't been outstanding this season by any stretch of the imagination, and the same can be said for Manchester United.

The Blues and Red Devils rank fourth and sixth throughout the Premier League respectively for efforts at goals-per-match, whilst both have second-lowest goals for tally in the division's top seven. In fact, tenth-placed Watford have scored the same amount.

If there's one division between the two sides, however, it's Diego Costa's scoring form compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's, with the former netting almost double of the latter.

BOTH SIDES HAVE FAILED ON THE BIG OCCASIONS THIS SEASON

Mourinho may deem Monday's result as a moral victory, sucking the life out of a ferocious start to the season for Liverpool with an attritional display.

But in truth, United and Chelsea are both awaiting their first win over a heavyweight opponent since changing managers, the Blues losing to Liverpool and Arsenal and the Red Devils coming up short in the Manchester derby before settling for a point at Anfield.

That suggests neither manager has settled on a game-plan for the high-profile fixtures, which points to rather awkward performances from their respective sides on Sunday.