Off the field, he's taken a bold swipe at Chelsea that is sure to irritate the Blues going into Sunday's showdown before 76,000 at Old Trafford in Manchester, England _ the biggest match so far this season in the Premier League.

Ronaldo's point:

Chelsea is no better this season than they were last despite spending a reported 31 million pounds (C$67.9 million) for former AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko, and paying German midfielder Michael Ballack about 120,000 pounds (C$263,000) weekly following a free transfer from Bayern Munich.

``I think Chelsea are about the same as they were last year,'' Ronaldo said. ``The transfers of Shevchenko and Ballack haven't changed them too much in terms of superiority to everybody else.''

``They have to work harder to win games, and they just do enough to win.''

Shevchenko has only four goals in all competitions this season, while Ivorian teammate Didier Drogba has 14. Ballack has three.

This is the first time since Jose Mourinho took over for the 2004-05 season that two-time defending champions Chelsea face a serious threat for the title.

United leads with 34 points and Chelsea has 31. Next are Portsmouth with 23 and Arsenal and Aston Villa on 22.

Both United and Chelsea are coming off 1-0 losses in the UEFA Champions League _ Chelsea against Germany's Werder Bremen and United versus Celtic of Scotland.

Ronaldo praised Mourinho, who is also Portuguese, and suggested Chelsea would collapse if he left.

``I can't speak badly about him (Mourinho),'' Ronaldo said. ``But I'd like to see what would happen if he were to leave.''

The game offers intriguing matchups all over the field.

In midfield, Chelsea's physical four of Claude Makelele, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Ballack could overpower United, which will rely on Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick to direct play.

The matchup between Ronaldo and leftback Ashley Cole might be the best of all, while both clubs have bull-like strikers _ Drogba versus Wayne Rooney.

``For the first time we're in front with the prospect of going six points clear,'' United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. ``We can have them chasing us rather than be chasing them.''

Lampard noted that the season is barely one-third over.

``It's a must-not-lose game for us,'' he said. ``Our intention is to win the game and, if not, then draw. Even if we lose, there is a long way to go.''

United versus Chelsea is a match between very different clubs.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon, who moved from the same position at United three years ago, has directed the spending of Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

``The team is the best we've had in my three years here, and I don't think we've seen the best of it yet,'' Kenyon said.

Chelsea has aspirations to be the world's biggest soccer club within the next decade, overtaking United, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

``Manchester United was built around heritage,'' Kenyon said. ``Chelsea's success was sporadic. We had not had that depth of heritage to fall back on. ... We attracted I think the top manager in Europe, possibly the world, and we had to create success. Being different is in our DNA.''

Ferguson laughed off Kenyon's comments.

``We're going to quake and tremble with that,'' Ferguson quipped.

Sunday's match at Old Trafford overshadows the day's other two games: Newcastle United versus Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur versus Wigan Athletic.

Newcastle United and Tottenham are both coming off of victories in UEFA Cup action on Thursday with Newcastle outlasting Spain's Celta Vigo 2-1 and Tottenham shutting out Bayer Leverkusen of Germany 1-0.

On Saturday, it is Charlton Athletic versus Everton; Aston Villa versus Middlesbrough; Fulham versus Reading; Liverpool versus Manchester City; West Ham versus Sheffield United; and Bolton versus Arsenal.

Arsenal, having played a game less than the leaders, could make up some ground this weekend. The Gunners are coming off a 3-1 Champions League win over Germany's Hamburger SV.

In the League Championship, Cardiff and Preston lead with 36 points. The next four are Birmingham City with 34 points, Burnley and Derby with 31 and West Bromwich Albion with 29.

On Friday, Wolverhampton hosts Sunderland.

The game has two bitter rivals facing each other on the bench: former Ireland coach Mick McCarthy at Wolverhampton against Sunderland's Roy Keane, a former Ireland international and Manchester United captain.

McCarthy and Keane were involved in a high-profile spat two weeks before the 2002 World Cup. Keane was eventually dismissed from the team. He openly criticized McCarthy's competence and questioned his Irish ancestry.

McCarthy was born in England and speaks with a sharp Yorkshire accent.

On Saturday, it is Barnsley versus Ipswich; Burnley versus Birmingham; Colchester versus Southend; Derby versus Leicester City; Norwich versus Hull; Plymouth versus Leeds; Preston versus Crystal Palace; Queens Park Rangers versus Coventry; Sheffield Wednesday versus Cardiff; Southampton versus Luton; and, Stoke versus West Bromwich Albion.