Chelsea visit the Etihad stadium in an early season clash against title rivals Manchester City
Amidst recent controversy
regarding the potential absence of their regular medical staff on the bench,
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea visit Manchester to face a City side beaming with
confidence and doing what they can do tremendously well, which is to play
football.
The home side have started the
season well with key players like Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany performing
like they should. New signing Raheem Sterling has excited viewers in preseason
and against West Brom, providing the team some unpredictability with his
dribbling and penetration. Manuel Pellegrini should, in all certainty set his
team out confidently to attack the London side from the word go, looking to
build on the dominant performance last weekend.
The Citizens should, in all
probabilities line up with Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala as their centre back
pairing, flanked by Bacary Sagna and Aleksander Kolarov. Pablo Zabaleta is
still recovering from his exploits at the Copa America and might not be ready in time to face Chelsea . However, Frenchman Sagna more than made up for
Zabaleta’s absence, looking solid in defence and more than capable of
supporting attacks down the wing. His
countryman Mangala also looked better at the heart of defence than he did this
time last year but a lot of that could do with the lack of a potent threat the
Midlands’ team provided.
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| Yaya Toure was on song for Manchester City against West Brom last weekend |
Their midfield is much more
efficient when Toure is on song, letting Fernandinho sitting deep to protect
the defence and do the job of winning the ball back for the team. With Toure
supporting attack, David Silva looked better in the hole behind the striker,
comfortable switching places with Jesus Navas and Sterling, and together they
can give any defence a harrowing time on their day.
Upfront, Wilfried Bony worked
hard but didn’t show the same finishing instincts for which he has actually been
brought to the Etihad. Argentine Sergio Aguero, still not completely fit, might
again start on the bench, leaving the former Swansea man the responsibility to
lead out the attack once more.
Things are not so good for the
London side however, with off field issues regarding the medical team’s
apparent naivety to get on the field to treat Eden Hazard last weekend which
wasn’t appreciated by Mourinho. The Portuguese’s logic pointed out to his side
being left with only 9 players on the field, rather than blaming his keeper for
a rash challenge to give away a penalty, thereby receiving a red card as well.
Whether it is actually a ploy by the former Real Madrid manager to shift the
focus away from his players who performed rather poorly on the day to concede a
draw at Stamford Bridge or not is something everyone can have an opinion on.
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| Ivanovic struggled against pacy Jefferson Montero last weekend |
The Pensioners should probably
start with Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta in
defence ahead of Bosnian stopper Asmir Begovic. Considering their options in
defence, or the rather lack of it, this could certainly be one of the reasons
of Mourinho apparently being unhappy with the situation. Serbian Ivanovic’s
form is in question since last weekend and it is crucial he responds well to
criticism considering how important a personality he is in the dressing room. Not
only this, but his lack of quickness last weekend actually made Cahill cover
for him time and again leaving Terry exposed.
Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic
in the midfield makes for a balanced pairing on paper, albeit only if both the
players are in form. Fabregas wasn’t his usual self last weekend, failing to
show his rather brilliant range of passing. With Oscar, Willian and Hazard
behind Costa, Chelsea simply offer nothing new as compared to last season and
might face more difficulties at the Etihad with an improved Toure in midfield
and an even more improved Kompany in defence.
All in all, one can expect an exciting
contest between possibly the top two contenders for the title this term with
some exhilarating sub plots. Former Liverpool man Sterling could come up
against Ivanovic and the Serbian’s recent form suggests that he will be in for
a tough afternoon tomorrow. Toure will look to impose himself on the game as he
did last time out against a pairing of Matic and Fabregas, and if he does
manage to come out on top, expect City to look like a different side altogether.
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| Mourinho can call upon Ramires and Matic with Fabregas pushed higher up the pitch |
Although this is what the sides
usually look like, one can’t rule out Mourinho going out with a defensive mind
set with three in the midfield, with Fabregas pushed up a bit to be replaced by
Ramires alongside Matic. Expect Hazard and Willian to play on the flanks in the
case with Costa through the centre with the midfield trio focused on halting
the progress of Toure and Silva through the centre. Even with pacy wingers,
City do tend to play their way centrally with intricate passes releasing the
likes of Sterling or even Aguero and halting these could very well be crucial
to how the game pans out.
A draw, with Chelsea yet again
coming up with performances against the odds away from home is my best bet.
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