Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes won't write off Chelsea's title prospects this season.
"Having big names like Drogba and Lampard back will make a massive difference to Chelsea," he said. "They both have a big influence, which is why Chelsea struggled to win without them.
"One they are settled in the team again, I am sure they will be up there challenging."
Like Chelsea, he felt it was only a matter of time before United hit winning form once their key players were back.
"Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo are top players for us and they proved that with the number of goals they scored last season," he said. "But we lost Wayne to a broken foot on the opening day and Cristiano was suspended, so we were bound to miss them.
"We were also playing decent teams at the start, so in a way we expected tight games."
Scholes is still not completely happy with United's form, although a club record run of clean sheets has ensured Sir Alex Ferguson's men were able to record narrow wins until they finally put four past Wigan prior to the international break.
"When you look at the overall start to the season, we probably have not played as well as we would want," he said. "But the key thing is that we are still up there. We have put together a decent run in the league and things are looking better."
"Having big names like Drogba and Lampard back will make a massive difference to Chelsea," he said. "They both have a big influence, which is why Chelsea struggled to win without them.
"One they are settled in the team again, I am sure they will be up there challenging."
Like Chelsea, he felt it was only a matter of time before United hit winning form once their key players were back.
"Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo are top players for us and they proved that with the number of goals they scored last season," he said. "But we lost Wayne to a broken foot on the opening day and Cristiano was suspended, so we were bound to miss them.
"We were also playing decent teams at the start, so in a way we expected tight games."
Scholes is still not completely happy with United's form, although a club record run of clean sheets has ensured Sir Alex Ferguson's men were able to record narrow wins until they finally put four past Wigan prior to the international break.
"When you look at the overall start to the season, we probably have not played as well as we would want," he said. "But the key thing is that we are still up there. We have put together a decent run in the league and things are looking better."
