Fernando Torres Hoping Chelsea Can Find Elusive Spark in Match With Manchester United

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has become particularly fond of his time playing against Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic.

The defender will likely be a sight for sore eyes for the struggling Spaniard, as Torres who has had past successes against the Serb could use the jump start, Reuters.com reports.

A United win would give the team a seven-point lead in the Premier League and all but end Chelsea's hopes of retaining the title.

Torres, whose struggles have been well documented, has yet to score for Chelsea since his £50 million($81.25 million) move from Liverpool.

United is hoping that Vidic has a short memory in light of the 4-1 home thrashing Torres and Liverpool gave him back in 2009. Torres taunted the defender into a first-half mistake that resulted in the tying goal, and Vidic was eventually sent off.

"They have brilliant center-backs and always the motivation is high when you play against them," Torres told Chelsea's website.

"You want to play well against these players to show you can do it, and Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were always a big challenge for me. Some people prefer big players not to be playing but I prefer to play against these kinds of players."

A loss would drop Chelsea 18 points behind United, still outside the Champions League places, as they've fallen below Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite the circumstances, Torres believes facing United might be the spark he and (especially) Chelsea have been waiting for.

"This will be an interesting game because it can make us come back to fight for the title, it is one of the most important games of the season right now.

"If we win this one we are closer to them and we have will still have one more game against them," Torres told Reuters.

Both teams have faced unwanted distractions off the pitch of late as Chelsea's Ashley Cole accidentally shot a team intern with an air gun earlier this week, while United's Wayne Rooney found himself under fire for elbowing a Wigan Athletic player. However, it appears both will be on the field for the match.