When the final whistle blows on the Barclays Premier League season on Sunday and the first battle between Chelsea and Manchester United is settled, the psychological effects will reach far into their Champions League final preparation.

United have led for so long that you might think that if Sir Alex Ferguson's men stumble at the last hurdle they will go back into the dressing-room in a depressed state. But I have not seen United play with a lack of confidence during all the time that Chelsea have been catching up. On the contrary, if United do not win the title, I believe they will win the Champions League.

They are comeback merchants. That is what Ferguson is. He has that background where he has had to struggle, where he has always wanted to prove something. When he was told that he was too old, look what happened. He is a fighter and he has instilled that in his team.

The personality of Ferguson is spewed across the whole side. If they do not win the title, they will still beat Chelsea in Moscow. I would stake £100 on it. United are like a family; they feel like a family and they deal with hardship like a family. If anything goes wrong on Sunday, which I doubt it will, they will do the business in Moscow.

I know Ferguson, having met him on a number of occasions, but even if I did not, it is plain how resilient he is, how he always sets out to prove something to himself, and that rubs off on the team. The notion of a team seems to be anathema to Chelsea. They are more like a group of individuals. They do not play the same team all the time - effectively they have four sides. Where United are like a family, Chelsea are not.

Avram Grant, the first-team coach, should be proud because for a little-known man to come in and take over a squad from as big a personality as José Mourinho is no small feat. But you get a sense of the climate or the culture in an organisation and I do not think they have United's kind of battling spirit.

If Chelsea blow it by losing to Bolton Wanderers at the same time as United fail to beat Wigan, that may well destroy them. Their self-confidence will evaporate. If Chelsea do not win the Premier League, it will affect them far more than it would United. If they lose at home, I cannot see them turning it on in Moscow. I just do not think they are as resilient. At this time of year it is all about personality and I do not see in Chelsea the kind of grit that United have.

Cary Cooper, CBE, is professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University and president of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. He is a Manchester City fan.

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