Rooney starts against striker-less Chelsea

Manchester United manager David Moyes boldly selected Wayne Rooney to start in Monday's Premier League showdown against Chelsea, who have made two unsuccessful bids for the unsettled striker. Rooney was the focus of much of the attention prior to the match at Old Trafford, with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho blaming Moyes for making the 27-year-old England star feel unwanted. Rooney made a cameo appearance in United's 4-1 win at Swansea City last weekend after missing the whole of pre-season through injury, but Moyes decided he was ready to start in the Scot's first home game as manager. The former Everton striker replaced Ryan Giggs in the only change to the team that started at the Liberty Stadium. Mourinho made the surprising decision to start without a recognised striker, with Fernando Torres and Romelu Lukaku on the bench and Demba Ba not included in the squad. In total there were two changes to the team that beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Wednesday, with Kevin De Bruyne and new signing Andre Schuerrle coming into the side in place of Ba and Juan Mata. Chelsea can go six points clear of United with victory, although they will have played a game more. Source: AFP