Teddy Sheringham has warned Manchester United they can’t afford to take Schalke lightly as they look ahead to Sunday’s Premier League title showdown against Chelsea.
With United 2-0 up from the first leg of their Champions League semi-final in Germany last week, there have been suggestions Sir Alex Ferguson would rest key players on Wednesday night as he prepares for Sunday’s visit of the Blues.
But Sheringham, who helped United win the Treble in 1999, insists that would be the wrong approach.
He told the Keys and Gray Show: “United have got a great cushion, 2-0 up, but I think Sir Alex will put out a full team and get the game won, and then rest people with half an hour left.
“If you do come unstuck by playing a weakened team, you could lose 2-0, go to extra-time and then everything’s chaos and it could spill over into Sunday’s game.
“So I think they’ll get that one out of the way first and then focus on who’s fit, ready and able to take on a charging Chelsea team.”
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have all the momentum going into Sunday’s huge clash after a sensational run of form, but Sheringham believes that could actually prove to be to United’s advantage.
He added: “The momentum is with Chelsea, but if Man United want to put a spin on that they can say they’re three points clear. Chelsea have to do all the running and sometimes that can work in your favour that the other team is coming forward and attacking.
“If you imagine with 20 minutes to go and the game’s still 0-0 or 1-1, Chelsea have to win the game and that could play into United’s hands with the pace and power they’ve got up front.
“United have been there, seen it and done it. They know the situation. And one good thing for United is Chelsea have got a stable side, but they’re not quite sure what their strikeforce is.
“They’ve got three outstanding centre-forwards but it’s plain and obvious they can’t all play together, maybe not even two of them. So it might be just one up front, or maybe two of them but not quite firing on all cylinders.
There are questions for Fergie to answer, but it’s a troublesome problem for Ancelotti as well.”
And Sheringham also insists there will be no repeat of the lacklustre attitude that cost United dearly at Arsenal last weekend.
“United weren’t at it in the first half [at the Emirates],” he said. “They took it a bit easy from the first minute and Arsenal attacked them and United didn’t really have any response. It was like ‘we’re six points clear, it’s not a problem’.
“You can’t take the game like that, they needed to get at least a draw in that game. All of a sudden it’s game on again, but they won’t be in the same frame of mind on Sunday.”
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