Manchester City host Chelsea on Saturday and the defending champions will want to put their defeat to Liverpool to bed and get on a run of wins. Pep Guardiola’s men are 9 points behind leaders Liverpool and desperately need to win to have any chance of closing the gap on them in the long run, as well as leapfrog Chelsea in the table.
City go into this game as favourites, but Chelsea, under Frank Lampard, have looked deadly in attack.
Can Chelsea defeat Manchester City at the Etihad this weekend?
Let’s take a look at 3 things Chelsea should do to beat Manchester City
Play early balls into the attackers
Chelsea have an in-form striker in Tammy Abraham, who has proven to be a handful this season with his clever movement and finishing. The young English striker has already scored 10 goals this season, one more than City’s leading goalscorer for the season, Sergio Aguero. Abraham has shown that he can be clinical when in and around the penalty area, and with Manchester City’s fragile defence, Lampard could tell his men to play it quickly into the box.
With the likes of Christian Pulisic and Willian running in from wide areas, Chelsea’s attack could cause trouble by playing in early crosses and flooding the box. City’s defenders lack confidence and Chelsea should test them by playing on the front foot from the get-go.
Man mark Kevin de Bruyne out of the game
Kevin de Bruyne is City’s most important player going forward, which is reflected in the assists chart. The Belgian leads the table with 9 assists from 11 appearances, more than double of the next best assist-maker. His quick passes and crosses have troubled defences throughout the season and keeping him quiet could lead to Chelsea going away with a point, at least.
N’Golo Kante could be tasked with the duty of marking the City midfielder, stopping the ball coming to his feet and not allowing him space to attack the half-spaces in the Chelsea half.
Attack from wide areas
Both teams have shaky defences but are exciting to watch going forward. City also have wingers who don’t offer much defensively, which is where Chelsea can profit. By playing three central midfielders, Lampard could have one of them sit deep and become the third defender, while the full-backs bomb forward.
This would allow the wide players to drift into central areas and drag the City players out of their positions. Benjamin Mendy should start for City at left-back, and he is a defender who likes going forward more than defending, which can be an area that the London blues can target.