I remember being at The Etihad Stadium the last time Chelsea played there at the end of last season, and boy was that an all time low.
City were crowned champions on this day and had the trophy celebrations at the end of the match, which of course I had to sneak away from. But this was a gutter moment for the club and the team, and even though there was, and still is of course, hope for the future, this was a hard one to soak up. City outplayed us, and we had absolutely nothing. The traveling away fans had nothing, and we were just being chanted at all game by City fans.
Saturday might be different though, right? A season on, a new manager, and a rejuvenated set of players who seemingly now look like they are doing all they can to try and prove a point? I do think we are in a slightly better place than we were last season, even though there has also been plenty of turmoil and doom and gloom this season as well. The last two games will perhaps give us the hope we need going into this one, but let’s see.
As I’ve said the last two weeks, there is no way I am getting carried away by the last two victories, not a chance. I’ve been there many times before to just be left disappointed and angry again, so I am keeping my expectations very low, especially going to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City!
We played VERY well against Aston Villa, and fairly good in the second half against Crystal Palace. But the two games before Villa, and the first half against Palace, we were abysmal. My memory serves me, and I think that’s why for me personally, I have to keep my optimism low for now. There’s also been some good and positive signs though, so there is some hope still.
City could only be missing Jack Grealish after he was forced off during their Champions League win away at FC Copenhagen, a game in which Bernardo Silva was also replaced. Josko Gvardiol will also miss around two weeks of action.
Chelsea, meanwhile, will asses Thiago Silva after the groin injury he sustained against Crystal Palace on Monday evening. Benoit Badiashile will also miss around a month of action with a similar problem.
Romeo Lavia, Reece James, Robert Sanchez back in partial training), Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Lesley Ugochukwu are long-term absentees.
We will have to wait to hear on final confirmations from Mauricio Pochettino in Friday’s press conference after some assessments and late fitness tests for the likes of Silva, and Malo Gusto. Silva was injured, but Gusto was fatigued, per Pochettino.
Pochettino’s lineup mainly picks itself right now, other than in attack, and that is where the gaffer has to make his biggest decision for City. I think Noni Madueke will be dropped for Christopher Nkunku, and Nicolas Jackson might return to play more centrally, so Cole Palmer can go in the right half space where he is most effective. The rest, with injuries in mind, picks itself.
It’s probably THE toughest league fixture we can face, away at City. But nothing is impossible in football and as we showed in our last game against them, we are more than capable of going toe-to-toe. So if we take that, the momentum from our last two games, the confidence that has built up, alongside the excellent team spirit and togetherness we have shown, then anything is possible.
As we have all seen, games like this can sometimes suit this Chelsea side. We struggle against a low block, so it at least might be more open in an attacking sense. But the other side of that is that we also struggle to play out against a high press at times and also, just like an open game might help in our attack, it will do the opposite for our defence. My one concern again is that if we are too highly pressed we will lose the ball a lot and setup attacks for City, and if we do the alternative and go long, there is no focal point to aim for.
It’s so important that Enzo Fernandez stays close to Moises Caicedo, especially when we are playing out from the back. Full backs will have to be in sync in terms of one sticking if the other goes. And our defenders are going to have to be so switched on and be fully aware of runs and counter attacks.
If every player is on their game we can beat any team on our day. But if we are not on our game and the tactics are not spot on from Mauricio Pochettino, as we have also seen, we are at risk of a real humbling again and getting embarrassed.
Lets hope they turn up like they did at Villa, and lets hope City have a similar terrible game like Villa did on that day too!
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