Games don't come much bigger than this weekend's clash with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, and Ricardo Carvalho is keen to come out on top by Sunday evening.

The defender has been a steadying influence at the heart of a defence that has conceded just two goals in five matches to date this season, and is hoping that good form continues into Sunday's Premier League match against Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

Carvalho is unbeaten as a Chelsea player against United at the Bridge, and has enjoyed some of his most memorable Blues moments against the reigning champions.

His Chelsea debut in August 2004 was a narrow 1-0 victory against United, while the next season the centre-half rounded off a title-confirming 3-0 win with his famous solo goal, celebrated with a puff of an imaginary cigar.

'I remember it - I won the ball from Van Nistelrooy and afterwards I carried on, and on, and the shot was good. It was the third goal and we were champions!

'It is a special memory for me, when we needed to win to be champions and we won so well, so we could celebrate then and share the good times with the fans, our families and team-mates. At the end of my career it will be good to look back on, and it is important to arrive in these times, reach finals and collect trophies.'

With his mind focused on the present, the centre-half is aware of the task facing the side, with United boasting an array of attacking talent.

Ferguson today confirmed the likely fitness of new signing Dimitar Berbatov, while Cristiano Ronaldo returned from ankle surgery as a substitute against Villarreal on Wednesday night.

'Everyone knows how good they are, they have great players in front and we have to try to do our best and not give them space to play,' Carvalho said. 'We have to play each other at some point, it's a tough game to play and at home you want to win and show you are stronger than them.'

Our chances have been buoyed by the renewed availability of captain John Terry, whose red card against Manchester City last weekend has been rescinded.

For Carvalho, who perhaps had the best view available of the incident, it was the right decision.

'It is good and it is fair. I think it was a bad decision to send him off, because I was three metres nearer to the goal than him, and so it is right. It will be good to have him in our defence because he is so important to us,' he said.

Their partnership has been the preferred option for Luiz Felipe Scolari in each game so far this campaign, alongside José Bosingwa and Ashley Cole. It is a settled line-up that Carvalho believes is helping the side's defensive resistance.

'We are doing a good job, having conceded just two goals - one was unlucky against Tottenham and the other was a free-kick so it isn't so bad,' he said.

'We are defending well as a team. It's important to have the players playing in front of us doing this, John Mikel Obi, Lamps and the others. If we play like that and don't concede a goal we are confident we will always score and win more games.'

As for his own form, many believe Carvalho is currently at his very best, though he is typically modest on the subject.

When asked, he joked: 'You say I was bad before?!' before adding: 'I feel fit and I am in good condition since we started the season. I feel I am always improving and playing at my level.'

In four years he has certainly come to represent the finest defending around, and Ronaldo and co. will have to be at their best if they are going to breach the Chelsea backline on Sunday.

Carvalho and Chelsea are 6/4 to keep a clean sheet at the Bridge on Sunday with online betting partner Paddy Power.

By Andy Jones