Manchester City travel to Stamford Bridge for their game against Chelsea in the midweek Premier League fixture. Chelsea are currently top of the Premier League and are sitting pretty with a seven-point lead. The Blues surprisingly lost their last game against Crystal Palace during the weekend and Tottenham were able to win their game against Burnley, which has reignited their title hopes.
Chelsea’s game against City will be one of the important games of the season and they will be under some pressure if they fail to win against City and Spurs win theirs against Swansea. This particular game could blow the title race wide open with Spurs, City and Liverpool all waiting for Chelsea to lose some ground so they can pounce on the opportunity. Below is Chelsea’s predicted lineup.
Goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois will surely occupy the space between the sticks. The Belgian keeper conceded two goals in the game against Palace and should expect himself to be busier against the likes of Aguero, Silva and Sane.
Defence
Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta will play at the heart of the defence in Conte’s three at the back system. The trio has enjoyed a decent amount of success, with them getting enough protection from the likes of N’Golo Kanté and Nemanja Matic. The centre-backs will have a tough task of keeping Sergio Aguero quiet.
Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses will be on either side of the centre-backs. The wing-backs too have helped Chelsea look dangerous on the counter. Victor Moses is to be assessed before the game with a slight calf problem but is expected to come through, to start against Manchester City.
Midfield
Kanté and Matic will most likely play in the midfield pivot. The duo has enabled Chelsea to attack opposition without fearing to be attacked on the counter as they are both excellent at recovering the ball after losing possession. The fact that they are not ponderous on the ball gives them an extra edge during a counter.
Up ahead, Chelsea will deploy two attacking midfielders in the form of Willian and Eden Hazard. They’ll both try to terrorise opposition’s channels with their pace and dribbling ability. We might witness a great battle between Eden Hazard and Pablo Zabaleta, given the latter is fit for the game.
Attack
Diego Costa will lead the attack for Chelsea. The striker has been in prolific form this season and the fans will be hoping to see more of the same from their Spanish star. Costa has managed 17 goals and has 5 assists to his name this season in the Premier League.
