Chelsea open their Premier League campaign against Manchester City
Chelsea are set to commence their Premier League season with the visit of Manchester City to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, August 18th, at 16:30 local time. The Blues will be expected to get the campaign up and running on a winning note in front of their faithful.
It will be Enzo Maresca’s first official game since replacing Mauricio Pochettino earlier this summer and incidentally, it happens to be against a club and coach for whom he was the assistant some years ago.
Nevertheless, the former Leicester City boss will be looking to get his career underway on a high with another side adorning the blue colour. With significant pre-season action under his side’s belt, here is a look at the three key battles which may decide their match against the defending champions, Manchester City.
1. Tosin Adarabioyo vs Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick against Chelsea in their pre-season fixture in Ohio some weeks ago. The Norwegian’s potency in front of goal was crucial as the Sky Blues won 4-2 against Maresca’s men.
Tosin Adarabioyo’s task in his official debut for Chelsea will be to prevent Haaland from repeating his feat at Stamford Bridge, a venue where he struck twice in the Premier League last season when the two sides played out a thrilling 4-4 draw.
Adarabioyo will need to tightly mark Haaland and not afford him any place in the box. The former Fulham centre-back has what it takes to nullify the City star’s threat, thanks to his superb physical build as well as pace.
Maresca will count on him for possibly Chelsea’s biggest defensive duty of the match.
Romeo Lavia vs Kevin De Bruyne
Moises Caicedo has not been in the best runs of form heading into the Premier League season and therefore, Romeo Lavia might be the favourite to start at defensive midfield against Pep Guardiola’s side.
The 20-year-old will have the tough task of handling Kevin De Bruyne, a player who always excels against Chelsea, not least when he plays at Stamford Bridge. The Belgian is not just a goal threat but is Manchester City’s creative outlet as well, and as a result, keeping him under check is arguably of greater importance than Haaland too.
De Bruyne will undoubtedly start the match and will be counted on by Guardiola as well as the City faithful to be at his menacing best against his former recruits.
Lavia is a very intelligent player, though, and his first big test of the season will be against one of the world’s finest attacking midfielders. It will be an interesting watch to see who comes out on top.
Christopher Nkunku vs Ruben Dias
With his injury issues hopefully a thing of the past, Christopher Nkunku is likely to lead the line against Manchester City on Sunday as he hopes to make an auspicious start to life under Enzo Maresca.
To beat City, Chelsea will have to outscore them in all likelihood and an offensive game plan is just as important as being defensively solid. That’s where Nkunku will come in handy and will need to play his A-game against Ruben Dias.
The Portuguese defender is a solid presence in the heart of the backline but if Nkunku can make runs behind him and between spaces in the box, he could have a successful outing in front of goal.
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The former Leipzig star has great pace and dribbling abilities, whilst his finishing from close range is something Chelsea will count on too. How he performs in the early days of the season and particularly against City could dictate Maresca’s choice of a centre-forward in the longer run.
