The top 2 go head to head.
Chelsea travel to the Etihad Stadium to play league leaders Manchester City on Saturday. City sit 10 points clear at the top of the table and both teams have no games in hand. City have just steamed ahead over Christmas with a bit of fortune with regards to Covid and injuries they have increase the gap. City have won their last 11 games in the league and just look unbeatable at the moment. Liverpool have lost two games and Chelsea have lost 2 games but the draws mean that the gap has just increased over time.
Chelsea go into this game having drawn four of the last five games in the league. That in itself has seen us drop 8 points which is basically the gap to City. The draw against Liverpool and the 3 performances against Spurs and Chesterfield were good in turns of resting players and gaining some momentum. Chelsea do go into this game better off than they were 2 weeks ago. The reverse fixture saw City win 0-1 thanks to a dodgy goal by Jesus but overall City were the better team. Tuchel said pre match that Chelsea were defensive and didn’t set up right in that game and he takes responsbility for it and has learned from it. Overall Tuchel has played Pep four times and come out the winner three times. There is something to fight for in this game. Tuchel and team will be hungry to set the record straight after that game at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea Team Preview
Chelsea will be without Reece James and Chilwell as usual. Chalobah is still with injury as well while Christensen has also been ruled out through Covid. Kepa should start in goal but the defence is where it get’s interesting. I expect Azpilicueta, Silva, and Rudiger start in the back three but Sarr could start if Tuchel decides to switch it to a back four. Kante and Kovacic should start in midfield with Alonso, and Pulisic as the wing backs. Mount, Werner, and Havertz should start up front. We could see Ziyech start ahead of Mount though because he looked like he was struggling against Spurs. We could also see Lukaku and Havertz start with Werner dropped but the Germans are more mobile. There are some interesitng tweakes available for Tuchel along with playing Hudson-Odoi as a wing back.
Man City Team Preview
City go into this game having had a weeks worth of rest. Pep said they had fresh covid cases but did not disclose names. We can base our predicitons off of who was avaiable against Swindon. Ederson might be out with Covid so Steffen could start in goal. Walker and Cancelo should start as the full backs. Laporte and Dias should start as the centre backs. Gundogan, Rodi, and De Bruyne should make up the midfield while Silva and Palmer should start either side of Jesus. City didn’t have the strongest bench against Swindon, Mahrez, Grealish, and Sterling were all missing With players back and more missing this is the safest prediciton to make. A strong starting XI regardless, and one that is churning out results.
Starting XI Prediction
It’s for sure a massive game given recent games. If City win then Chelsea would be well and truly out of the title race. If Chelsea win then the gap is cut to seven points with still some to go around. I expect Chelsea to give it their all and if we do it is more than possible to get a result at the Etihad. COME ON CHELSEA!!!
Park The Bus 