Chelsea would look to put behind the disappointing 2-1 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford when they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face league leaders Manchester City on Sunday. The defeat at United saw Chelsea’s top four hopes suffer a serious dent as they fell down to 5th place, two points behind London rivals Tottenham, who narrowly won 1-0 against Crystal Palace last Sunday.
Antonio Conte was left dejected after suffering a loss to his nemesis, Jose Mourinho and the Italian would hope for an improved showing against Pep Guardiola’s City.
City are fresh from the League Cup triumph after trouncing Arsenal 3-0 at Wembley on Sunday. The Carabao Cup marked Guardiola’s first trophy as a manager in England and he would be hungry for more.
The way City dismantled Arsenal in the second-half was something of a treat for their fans. They are surely running away with the title but Conte, who is under severe pressure, knows that there is still a lot to play for in the league and would be eager to get a win at the Etihad.
The last time these two sides met, City got the better of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, courtesy Kevin De Bruyne’s left-footed pile-driver which eventually turned out to be the winner.
David Luiz is currently sidelined with an ankle injury and Tiemoue Bakayoko is carrying a knock that forced him to miss the games against Barcelona and United.
But Conte could be in for some good news as Bakayoko has already started training and shared a picture of himself training at Cobham. January signing Ross Barkley is still out with a hamstring injury but could soon make a comeback.
Courtois is Chelsea’s undisputed No.1 and will start against Manchester City.
Azpilicueta has been one of the most consistent performers for Chelsea this season. His defending and game awareness would be a crucial asset at the Etihad.
Christensen continues to earn rave reviews for his performances in defence, week in and week out. The 21-year-old is a real deal for the Blues and could become the captain in the near future.
Rudiger has blown hot and cold in his debut season at Stamford Bridge. He was particularly out-of-sorts against United last weekend but could get the nod ahead of Gary Cahill against City.
Industrious as always, Moses was really good at Old Trafford and should start on Sunday. The wing-back is defensively decent and adds more going forward.
Just like Azpilicueta, Alonso has been a dependable figure for the Blues. The Spaniard remains a threat from set-pieces and no better game than City to demonstrate his credentials.
Kante has been off-colour this season and that has reflected in Chelsea’s overall performances in the Premier League. The diminutive Frenchman needs to get back to his old self in order to help the club finish on a high this season.
Partnering Kante in the midfield at Old Trafford should be Drinkwater. Kante and Drinkwater worked well in tandem in Leicester City’s incredible title triumph a couple of seasons ago. Conte would hope something similar from the duo for the Blues as they bid for a top-four finish.
Hazard is one of Chelsea’s best players and is a sure starter for the weekend’s blockbuster game. His incisive passing and guile will be needed in the game as we need to pick up three points at the Etihad.
Willian was by far Chelsea’s best player against United. He scored a fantastic goal to give us the lead and orchestrated the attacks well. Though we lost, the Brazilian showed why he should start every game, week in and week out.
Morata’s form has seen a stunning dip and it is high time Conte makes a bold call by starting Giroud up front. The Frenchman was a proven goal-scorer at Arsenal and his physical strength and robustness would be ideal to disturb the City defenders.
City are in hot form and it would need something extraordinary to stop them. Chelsea have to be defensively solid and they just cannot afford to sit deep. We have to go all guns blazing as we need three crucial points to keep our top four hopes alive.
I think we’ll come out with a 1-1 draw from the Etihad.
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