Chelsea play their third game in nine days on Thursday as they welcome Premier League champions Manchester City to Stamford Bridge in a huge match for both teams.
Following the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at the weekend, there is some added pressure on Chelsea to pick up a positive result against Manchester City tomorrow.
The Blues welcome the Premier League champions to Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening in what is now a huge match for Graham Potter and his squad. The reaction to the draw with Forest has been very negative with many criticising Potter. Chelsea have now won just one Premier League match in their past seven matches.
It won’t get any easier on Thursday either when Man City come to town as they look to reduce the gap to leaders Arsenal following the Gunners’ draw with Newcastle United on Tuesday evening. City slipped up last time out after drawing 1-1 with Everton on New Year’s Eve – and they will be looking to put things right at Stamford Bridge.
But what line-up will Potter go with to best try and combat City? Will he go more defensive than the 4-3-3 we’ve seen over the past couple of matches? football.london‘s Chelsea contingent Adam Newson and Bobby Vincent discuss below.
Adam Newson
Chelsea go into this game against the reigning champions tenth in the Premier League. That is grim reading for Potter, his players, and supporters alike. Can they get a win over Man City? Of course, but it will be far from an easy task, especially given the form of Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian striker has struck 21 goals in 15 top-flight games. Rather damningly, that is one more than Chelsea have managed this term. Stopping Haaland from getting on the scoresheet is half the battle and it’s for that reason I would shift back to the 3-4-2-1 system used earlier in the campaign.
Kepa should continue in goal given his form when called upon this term and I would utilise a back three of Trevoh Chalobah, who has strangely not featured in the starting XI since the World Cup, Thiago Silva and Marc Cucurella. In the wing-back roles, I’d start Cesar Azpilicueta on the right and youngster Lewis Hall, who impressed at the Etihad Stadium in the Carabao Cup clash, on the left.
Jorginho’s lack of physicality was ruthlessly exposed by Nottingham Forest on New Year’s Day so I’d reintroduce Mateo Kovacic to the side and partner him with Denis Zakaria. Mason Mount has struggled for form for much of this season, so I’d start Hakim Ziyech on the right of the front three, move Raheem Sterling over to the left, and continue with Kai Havertz through the middle.
Adam’s XI: Kepa; Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella; Azpilicueta, Zakaria, Kovacic, Hall; Ziyech, Havertz, Sterling.
Bobby Vincent
It’s a difficult one to predict what Potter will do because there are so many things to consider. Obviously we’ve got the brilliance of Man City going forward so a conservative approach may be something that’s looked at, but that is not how I would go.
I’d like to see Chelsea try and take the game to City on Thursday. I think stick with the 4-3-3. Despite the performance against Forest being poor, the display versus Bournemouth was very promising that it deserves another shot against a better side.
Chalobah should come in. Kalidou Koulibaly hasn’t looked up to it since returning from the World Cup and could benefit from a spell out of the side. Plus Chalobah has done virtually nothing wrong this season when he has been called upon.
Kovacic should also return to the starting XI, replacing Zakaria. Kovacic, on his day, is one of the first names on the team sheet for Potter and he should have recovered now from his World Cup campaign with Croatia so he should be fit enough to start against City.
The final change I would like to see is Ziyech come in for Christian Pulisic. Ziyech impressed when he came on at the City Ground at the weekend and after a fine World Cup with Morocco, it could benefit Chelsea to play the 29-year-old a bit more in upcoming fixtures. He should play on the right-hand side and Sterling should then swap to the left, with Havertz leading the line.
Bobby’s XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella; Kovacic, Jorginho, Mount; Ziyech, Havertz, Sterling.
Source: https://www.football.london/
