Sunday’s line-up of Premier League fixtures has thrown up a real treat ahead of the looming international break as Manchester United take the trip down south to face reigning champions Chelsea.

It’s a heavyweight clash that’s always earmarked as the ‘one to watch’ from the second the fixture lists are drawn out over the summer and Sunday’s encounter at Stamford Bridge has all the hallmarks of being a classic as Antonio Conte’s side desperately try to stay within reach of their rivals at the top.

The Blues are already nine points adrift of Manchester City in their defence of their title – and five points behind their opponents on Sunday – and a fourth loss of the campaign could leave them in a perilous position already.

Whilst a lot of the pre-match spotlight will be focused on the summer signings of Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku, or the return of Nemanja Matic to his former club, the respective displays of goalkeepers Thibaut Courtois and David de Gea could be critical in determining the overall result on Sunday.

It’s fair to say that the duo has endured contrasting fortunes at the start of the season, with the Chelsea number one only managing to keep four clean sheets compared to De Gea’s impressive tally of eight from ten games.

This perhaps summarises Chelsea’s struggles to keep the pace at the top, already conceding ten goals – a third of their tally from last season – and their reliable defence has suddenly become a leaky one.

Whilst Courtois has only made two less saves than the United ‘keeper since the beginning of the 2017-18 campaign (21) he only averages 2.63 saves per goal, an amount that is more than doubled by the Spaniard (5.75), and it’s no surprise De Gea’s reputation has grown towards a world-class one this year.

The United goalkeeper has been hitting the headlines for all the right reasons – notably for several top-quality reflex saves – and he won’t fear the threat that Chelsea’s attacking outlets pose on paper.

Yet, if Jose Mourinho sets his side up as anticipated and looks to frustrate the hosts in a manner that worked at Anfield against Liverpool it could turn out to be a busy afternoon between the sticks once again for De Gea.

On that occasion the Portuguese tactician was indebted to his stopper for a fine reflex save from Joel Matip’s close-range effort and, if Chelsea’s attacking trio of Morata, Eden Hazard and Pedro arrive at Stamford Bridge in the mood for goals, then we could be set for another virtuoso solo performance from De Gea.

Courtois’ inconsistent start to the season has seen him fall out of favour with a few Draft Fantasy managers, and heading into Sunday’s clash on the back of a 3-0 hammering away at Roma his morale will be low.

Manchester United’s approach to proceedings on Sunday is likely to be measured though, and this leaves the door open for another uneventful 0-0 draw – which could be good news for Draft Fantasy managers.