Gooood afternoon! The final game of Premier League matchday 25 is one between two of English football's powerhouses as Chelsea welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge. We've got a bumper two hours of build-up to come before kickoff, so let's get to it...

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of this afternoon's match at Stamford Bridge, let's take a look at what has happened so far this weekend and how it affects the Blues and Red Devils...

Matchday 25 began with a real humdinger at the Etihad as the top two, Leicester and Man City, did battle, with the best home team hosting the side with the best away record. It all made for what should have been an exhilarating contest, but in the end Leicester once again proved the doubters wrong with a tremendous 3-1 triumph. It took them six points clear for a couple of hours until 5pm when Spurs edged out Watford for a 1-0 win to climb above City and go second. Leicester, for the first time this season, are now the bookies' favourites to win the title. Amazing.

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Who would have thought it? Leicester and Spurs first and second with just 13 games of the season to go?! To be fair to both, they have been superb all season long and anyone who believes that they do not have the caliber to represent England in the Champions League is barking up the wrong tree. Leicester have taken the league by the scruff of the neck and approached most games thinking that they will simply outscore the opponent, while Spurs are building what looks like something pretty special under Mauricio Pochettino, whose side has the youngest average age of anyone in the top flight and could be a force for some time to come.

It's pretty unthinkable that both of the sides present at Stamford Bridge today are not in the top four. They both managed it last season but it appears that neither will make it this term, with defending champions Chelsea down in 13th, while United are currently seven points out of the Champions League places.

United started the day only five points behind the top four, but Arsenal are in action in the early kickoff and lead Bournemouth 2-0 at the break thanks to two quickfire goals from Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. If Arsenal see that out and United fail to win today, they will be at least two wins behind the top four and it's hard to see any of the sides above them giving up a lead like that.

HT: #AFCB 0-2 #AFC

Ozil and Oxlade-Chamberlain strike within 90 seconds of each other to put the Gunners on top pic.twitter.com/0VnLCTaGzy — Sports Mole (@SportsMole) February 7, 2016

So with City the only side dropping points above them this weekend and Southampton and Everton closing up behind West Ham in fifth, it is a big game for United today, not only to close the gap to those above them, but to just put a bit more distance between those sides closing up behind.

As for Chelsea, they come into this match sitting 13th. They will drop to 14th if Bournemouth complete an unlikely second-half fightback and beat Arsenal, but even if they don't, the gap is still just six points to the bottom three after Newcastle beat West Brom yesterday.

I agree with most that Chelsea are not quite in the thick of the relegation scrap, but they need to start stringing some wins together. Since Jose Mourinho left the club in December, Guus Hiddink is still unbeaten, but five of the seven league games since they beat Sunderland in his first game in charge have been draws.

This really is a massive month for the Blues. After today's visit of United, they host improving Newcastle next Saturday in the first of four games in two weeks. They go to Paris Saint-Germain, who are absolutely miles clear at the top of Ligue 1, the following Tuesday before hosting Man City in the FA Cup fifth round in two weeks' time and then travelling to Southampton the following Saturday.

By the way, if you fancy something to listen to before kickoff in 90 minutes' time, then you could do a lot worse - trust me! - than our football podcast, The Dugout. This week there was tons to talk about after the FA Cup fourth round, deadline day and a midweek set of Premier League fixtures, so hit play below or click here to find out how to subscribe so you never miss an episode 👍

The first two talking points on the pod were Pep Guardiola's arrival at the end of the season at Manchester City and John Terry's announcement that he would be leaving Chelsea in the summer having not been offered a new contract. Both revelations upset most Chelsea fans.

With Guardiola, Chelsea would have undoubtedly been interested in talking to the current Bayern Munich boss about becoming their manager at the end of the season, with Hiddink only in interim charge for the remainder of the campaign. However, City have won the race to tie up the former Barcelona man, who it was revealed had held initial talks with the Citizens before he joined Bayern back in 2012.

Who do Chelsea go for now? There is a big shake-up of managers happening this summer, with Guardiola to City, Carlo Ancelotti to Bayern and it seems that Chelsea's last manager, Jose Mourinho, is going to go to Manchester United and relieve Louis van Gaal of his duties! It has been suggested that Pellgerini could stay in the Premier League and opt to give Chelsea a go, but there are also strong links to Italy, with reports suggesting this week that Massimiliano Allegri has agreed a four-year contract with the Blues. Who knows!

Here's a nice little interactive Vine from Chelsea's Twitter account with some stats on today's game. Team news in about 15 minutes.

A reminder of the stats ahead of Chelsea v Man Utd. Tap to pause... https://t.co/HgVRWRIVqn — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 7, 2016

UPDATE: By the way, it's still 2-0 Arsenal as their match against Bournemouth reaches the hour mark. If you want to follow the remainder of that one, then open this link in a new tab to join the always hilarious Barney Corkhill.

Back to the news about John Terry, who caught us all off-guard last Sunday when he said after the 5-1 FA Cup fourth-round win over MK Dons that he had been told he would not be offered a new contract and go into a 19th year with Chelsea. It really seemed as if he wanted to reveal the news himself and not let the club say on official channels.

It has been reported that Chelsea were baffled by Terry's words and the club quickly said that although there is no new deal on the table at the moment, things could change. What it looks like is that Terry was so angry about being told that he would be off and just had to get it off his chest instead of playing the waiting game with the club.

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Since the announcement, there has obviously been a lot of links with other clubs. Alan Pardew has said he'll try to get the centre-back to Palace, but Terry does not want to join any other Premier League club, so a move abroad is on the cards if he does not turn it around and earn a new contract. Top sides in Europe like Inter Milan have been suggested as possible destinations, but at 35 surely a move to the States to join former Chelsea teammates Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole is the most likely option. If not that, then why not the big-spending Chinese Super League? He'll make tons of money if he goes East and why not with your career almost up?

Right then, team news now just seconds away. Will Eden Hazard start for Chelsea and will Louis van Gaal stick with a winning formula after United's impressive win over Stoke in midweek...

BREAKING TEAM NEWS! No Hazard for Chelsea! Terry does play, though. Full lineups coming right up...

CHELSEA XI: Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta; Mikel, Matic; Willian, Fabregas, Oscar; Costa
Subs: Begovic, Baba, Cahill, Loftus-Cheek, Pedro, Traore, Hazard

MAN UTD XI: De Gea; Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson; Fellaini, Carrick; Lingard, Mata, Martial; Rooney
Subs: Romero, McNair, Varela, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Pereira, Memphis

Okey doke. Starting with the home side, Hiddink names an unchanged XI from the midweek goalless draw at Watford. Gotta say I'm surprise by that. Hazard was superb and finally ended his scoring drought this season in last weekend's FA Cup win at MK Dons and considering the drab nature of Wednesday's match, changes were expected today.

It's far less surprising to see United unchanged after arguably their best performance of the season in midweek against Stoke. These two line up with exactly the same 4-2-3-1 formations, but who will come out on top?

Chelsea's star performer this season reaches a century of starts for the Blues today

Congratulations to @willianborges88 on his 100th start for the Blues! #CFC pic.twitter.com/UNMGHSsLgJ

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 7, 2016

So where are the key battles today? Terry vs. Rooney is an obvious one as two of England's best players of their generation collide. Elsewhere, I'd say Martial vs. Ivanovic could be interesting down the United left and the aforementioned Willian against United's young left-back Cameron Borthwick-Jackson should be good. The midfield is loaded for both sides and which anchoring pair will stand out, John Obi Mikel and Nemanja Matic for Chelsea, or Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini for United?

Wait, I didn't mention the constant pain in the bum that is Diego Costa?! The Spanish striker can be so frustrating to watch when he lets his temper get the better of him, but he can also rise to the big stage and did that last month at the Emirates when he fell under the challenge of Per Mertesacker to get the German sent off early on and then scored the only goal of the game. In Chris Smalling, he'll come up against one of the league's top centre-backs this year, but he might try to play more off Daley Blind if he can.

STAT: Juan Mata has gone 12 games without registering a goal or assist, his longest spell without a goal involvement in his Premier League career. Can he end that run against his old club today?

All over at the Vitality Stadium and no goals after the 24th minute, so it finishes 2-0 to Arsenal, who climb above Man City to go third, five points behind Leicester. Read all about it with our match report.

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So that means Chelsea stay 13th and a win today would take them above Crystal Palace and 12th on goal difference. United will not move whatever the result here, but a win for them would take them within four points of neighbours Man City in fourth.

I mentioned earlier that it was a hectic month for Chelsea, but it's even busier for United, who, if you include this match today, play six games in three weeks before March comes around. Two Europa League ties against Midtjylland and the FA Cup tie at Shrewsbury are on the horizon, as well as Premier League matches against Sunderland and Arsenal.

With Costa playing, it's sure to get fiery at some point today and this exact fixture does have a history of tempers flaring - there have been four red cards shown in the last five Premier League games between these two teams played at Stamford Bridge.

Slowly filling up at the Bridge

Warming up at Chelsea. Just 30 minutes until kick-off. #mufc pic.twitter.com/G7WeeoFeaE — Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 7, 2016

H2H: There was no red card and no goals when these two last met a little over a month ago three days after Christmas and that extended Chelsea's unbeaten run in the Premier League against United to six games (W3 D3).

In fact, United have lost more often to Chelsea than any other opponent in the Premier League era (16 times) and won just one of their last 13 Premier League trips to Stamford Bridge (W1 D4 L8).

If Chelsea extend that strong record with a win today, it will be the Blues' 50th win against Man Utd in all competitions.

STAT: Wayne Rooney has scored five goals in his last five Premier League appearances; more than he had managed in his previous 25 apps in the competition (4). Rooney has been involved in eight of the Red Devils last 10 league goals (five goals, three assists). Getting back to form in time for the Euros? With the likes of Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy playing so well, Rooney needs a strong second half of the season to guarantee his spot in Roy Hodgson's starting lineup.

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Should Rooney and United not turn up today and get beaten, it would leave the Red Devils with their lowest points tally at this stage of a Premier League season. Bring back Moyesey!

PREDICTION: It's gotta be a draw hasn't it? I think the two Dutch managers would rather not lose than win today, so a similar match to the reverse in December is likely. I think we might see a couple of goals this time though, so I'll say 1-1.

It looks like you guys struggled calling this one as well. On our match preview, 39.3% picked Chelsea, with 38.3% going United and 22.4% agreeing with me and the draw.

I think there is slightly more pressure on Chelsea today. Hiddink started well enough with a win over Sunderland in his first match in charge, but since then the Blues have underwhelmed at home, drawing three league games in a row against Watford, West Brom and Everton, conceding seven goals in the process. If they are held again today, it will be the first time since 1987 that the Blues have drawn four straight home league games.

Here we go then. The two teams, led by captains Terry and Rooney, exit the tunnel in front of an expectant crowd at the Bridge.

Ready to go! #CFCLive pic.twitter.com/mJ9RDA8T8T

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 7, 2016

KICKOFF! It's a windy day in the capital as Chelsea get us underway.

United into the Chelsea area with Lingard, but he's outmuscled by Matic, who shepherds the ball back to Courtois. The latter was excellent in the reverse and we undoubtedly have two of the league's best goalkeepers on show today in Courtois and De Gea.

Borthwick-Jackson had probably his best United game against Stoke in midweek and he's just put in a peach of a cross that Zouma had to head out for the game's first corner...

The visitors play it short and, as short corners often do, it doesn't work out as Chelsea close down the danger quickly.

Not much else of note in the opening exchanges but it has been a good start from United, with the visitors having 68% possession early on.

Second corner for the visitors and it's a much better one this time as Mata's inswinger is helped on and out for another corner by Costa.

This time Blind swings it in and Costa again heads out. Borthwick-Jackson collects and decides why not, shooting weakly and straight at Courtois from 25 yards.

A FOURTH corner for United as Oscar slides in to block Darmian's centre away. Van Gaal will be thrilled with his side's start here.

Make it five! Borthwick-Jackson and Darmian both really keen to get forward in the early stages, but none of United's set pieces have troubled Chelsea yet.

SAVE! Chelsea simply cannot get out of their own half here. Carrick has a pop from range and this one is better than Borthwick-Jackson, but again Courtois is equal to it, diving low to his left and holding the ball well.

The Brazilian is having to do more defensive work than he would like so far

.@willianborges88 in action. 12 mins played, 0-0 at Stamford Bridge. #CFCLive pic.twitter.com/DxZkzkFGef

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 7, 2016

And with Darmian and Borthwick-Jackson bombing on so much, perhaps Hiddink's decision not to play Hazard has been justified? The Belgian is not quite as good at getting back as Willian and Oscar.

FINALLY something to wake the Chelsea fans up as Willian uses his pace to burst through the United midfield and into the visitors' half. He feeds Oscar on the left, but his shot is blocked.

SAVE! Ooosshh! What a hit from Martial! He cuts inside past Ivanovic and unleashes one to the top corner that Courtois gets a hand to, tipping it millimetres wide of the post.

Martial has been rediscovering the form with which he made such an impact during his first couple of games in England recently. On Tuesday night he scored one of the goals of the season by curling home a lovely finish after a fine United team move.

PHOTO Anthony Martial has gone closest during a bright opening for the visitors. It's 0-0 (21 mins) #CHEMUN pic.twitter.com/ZT3feMGBVq — Premier League (@premierleague) February 7, 2016

This time Martial crosses from the left and Matic does really well to head away with Fellaini just behind him and ready to flick home from a few yards.

Midway through the first half and United have already had SEVEN corners as Martial wins another off Ivanovic...

Eight now as Smalling's header from Blind's delivery flicks a Chelsea player and loops behind.

And now nine as Carrick's shot is blocked away. Lingard clearly shoved Zouma in the build-up, but it wasn't spotted by the officials. Michael Oliver is the man in the middle, by the way...

WERHAY! Chelsea get their first corner as Matic drives forward and hits the ball off a red shirt...

Man, Costa is so annoying. He meets Willian's delivery and heads over but is furious that Chelsea were not awarded another corner. Get over it!

SAVE! Chelsea finally beginning to see some of the ball in United's half as Ivanovic wins a corner that Matic heads at goal, with De Gea leaping to his right and holding the ball well. He could have punched it away but decided to grasp it and it was the right call.

CHANCE! Clearest opening of the match and it's nice football from the Blues. Oscar rolls the ball into Costa, who holds off the challenge of Borthwick-Jackson before firing across De Gea and past the far post.

SHOT! Chelsea on top now and they threaten again as Matic lays the ball off to Oscar in the box. The angle is tight, so the Brazilan looks for the near top corner but gets too much on it. There was a gap there with De Gea leaning to his left, but Oscar could not find it.

Great stop earlier on by Courtois

Thibaut Courtois has conceded only 1 goal in 3 apps (all PL) v Man Utd - Van Persie in a 1-1 away draw, Oct 2014 pic.twitter.com/uqNtNpKWdk — Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) February 7, 2016

CLOSE! So it turns out Chelsea needed 25 minutes to wake up, but now they're dominating proceedings. Willian has Borthwick-Jackson on toast down the right and then crosses low into the six-yard box where Oscar is a shoe size away from poking home.

So United were the far better team in the opening 25 minutes, but since then it has been all Chelsea and Costa has shot wide with the best chance of the match.

Half a chance for United from their 10th corner as Blind's inswinger hits Fellaini on the shoulder and drops wide. He was tangling with Zouma and could not really focus on the ball, so it would have been a fluke had it gone in.

Chelsea have really grown into the match and now they're pressing United much higher up the pitch. In the early stages they were sitting back and inviting pressure, but now it's the Blues having more of the ball.

CLOSE! United come close for the first time in a while and it's a fine low cross from the right by Darmian, but if anything there's too much on it and those sprinting to get there, including Rooney, can't reach it in time.

CHANCE! Terry comes forward from the back and carries on running. Chelsea play the ball about for a bit before Willian's cross is deflected to the Chelsea captain, whose goalbound shot is blocked by Blind. Chelsea want a penalty and Blind's arms were definitely up, but Oliver's not having it. Just one minute of added time.

No goals in 135 minutes of football between these two this season then. That was quite a watchable half, though, and certainly a half of two halves. United were far better for 25 minutes, but Chelsea finally woke up and spurned some chances themselves. Back soon for the second 45.

KICKOFF! Back underway at the Bridge, with no changes from either side at the break. Both Hiddink and Van Gaal will be happy with what they saw at times, but can either take his one by the scruff of the neck?

First opening of the second period goes United's way as Mata dinks one over the top for Rooney, who meets it with his head, but he's on the stretch and can only loop it up for Courtois. He did well just to get anything on that.

And now Chelsea have their first attempt since the resumption, but it's high, wide and in no way handsome from Zouma, who had charged out from the back and decided to have a pop.

SAVE! Rooney given space to have a shot 25 yards out and he hits it low to the near post where Courtois makes a decent stop. The ball bounced just in front of him, so it wasn't that easy.

CLOSE! United have started well and they go close again as Martial is allowed to cut inside by Ivanovic, but he pulls his shot wide of the near post.

Rooney, by the way, had the fewest touches of any outfield player in the first half

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SAVE! All United at the start of the second half, just as in the first. Lingard's curling effort is tipped wide by Courtois before the Belgian keeper spills Rooney's cross on the follow-up out for a corner.

CHELSEA SUB: Here comes Hazard, replacing the ineffective Oscar down the Chelsea left.

Oh dear! Zouma is screaming in pain on the turf after landing really awkwardly. This looks like a bad one and he really is in pain.

Ouch! The centre-back hyperextended his knee and Cahill is getting ready to come on.

CHELSEA SUB: Zouma is stretchered off the pitch and Cahill comes on. A decent replacement, to say the least.

So Hiddink has now used two of his three subs, while Van Gaal has all three of his still to use. Herrera and Memphis stand out as possible candidates to have an impact.

But they might not need them! What a goal from Lingard! He receives the ball with his back to goal and it is bouncing in front of him before he spins and fires the ball into the top corner. Unstoppable!

Once again it was Borthwick-Jackson with the cross. Some impression the young left-back is making at the moment.

BOOKING! Blind clumsily runs into the back of Costa right on the corner of the United box. Good chance this for Chelsea...

Willian's dinked delivery is headed up and out for a corner by Carrick.

SHOT! United might enjoy more chances on the counter-attack now and after Martial just failed to reach a through-ball, Lingard, full of confidence, takes on a bouncing ball 25 yards out and loops a volley just wide.

CHELSEA SUB: All three Chelsea changes now made as Pedro replaces Matic. That will see Fabregas drop back into a deeper role alongside Mikel.

SAVE! Ivanovic! De Gea reacts quickly to tip over after Ivanovic caught a high ball brilliantly on the volley with his weaker left foot Think Zidane in the Champions League final last decade but just much closer in. Great technique!

Into the final 20 minutes of normal time and Chelsea have a corner as they look to level the score...

Cahill's header ricochets off a United player for another corner, the 17th of the match, but the second one is dealt with by United.

SAVE! Fabulous turn in the box from Fabregas, who fools all the United defenders around him before slapping towards the near top corner. You're not beating De Gea from there son. Solid stop.

Rooney tries his luck with a spectacular overhead, but Courtois always knew that was going wide of his near post. It's beginning to open up a little as we approach the final quarter of an hour.

Top finish

PIC: The moment Jesse Lingard gave United the lead. #mufc pic.twitter.com/PfGvfL6Poz — Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 7, 2016

UNITED SUB: Fresh legs in midfield for the visitors as Morgan Schneiderlin comes on for Fellaini.

BOOKING! Lingard slides in rashly and brings down Azpilicueta. Easy one for Oliver.

Into the last 10 we go then and still Lingard's fine finish separates the two teams. Remember, Chelsea are UNBEATEN in 10 games since Hiddink's arrival in December.

BOOKING! The ball hits Smalling's arm while he was on the ground and Oliver feels that it was deliberate so books the United centre-back.

United understandably beginning to sit back more and more here, but can they hold on for a big three points?

UNITED SUB: Goalscorer Lingard gets a big ovation from the travelling fans as he is taken off and replaced by Memphis.

Costa falls to the floor after colliding with Smalling, but that is never a foul and a complete waste. Had he stayed on his feet there might have been something for Chelsea there. What a frustrating player to watch 😡

Silly boy! Darmian sticks a leg out to trip Hazard, giving Chelsea a free kick on the right wing...

CHANCE! Better from Willian and Costa gets up well at the back post but can't keep his header down. From that close in, he has to hit the target.

With that serious injury suffered by Zouma, there should be at least four minutes of injury time you would have though. We're about to find out.

It's SIX added minutes. Not sure the stoppage was that long, I've got to say. Chelsea will take that!

They only need one minute! Costa comes up trumps and it's a scrappy, scrappy goal as the United defence miss Fabregas's ball into the middle. Costa is onside and although Borthwick-Jackson gets across to challenge him, the ball breaks kindly to the side of De Gea for Costa to slide home from a tight angle.

It's the loudest it's been all afternoon at Stamford Bridge. Can Chelsea win it?

CLOSE! What a goal this would have been! Rooney beats Ivanovic down the left and tries an audacious chip from a tight angle that lands on the roof of the net.

UNITED SUB: All four corners of the ground applaud as former Chelsea man Mata is replaced by Herrera.

SAVE! So close to a 96th-minute winner! Costa barges past Smalling and fires low to the near post where De Gea saves well.

So it finishes all square at the Bridge and my 1-1 pre-match prediction comes to fruition! You'd probably say that United edged it, but never count out Chelsea or Costa, who has a habit of netting big goals in big games.

That's all we've got time for here, but do stick around for reaction from Stamford Bridge. Thanks again for joining SM and enjoy the rest of your Sunday!