Manchester City take on Chelsea at the Etihad this evening as both sides will fight each other to get close to league-leaders Liverpool. Chelsea and City are separated by just a point as the former have 26 points while the latter have 25.
Liverpool are running away with the league with 34 points from 12 games and after this match, at least one team could be far behind the Reds (if they win their match).
With that in mind, here are the three things to look forward to from this encounter between the Sky Blues and the Blues:
3. Stopping Kevin De Bruyne Key for Chelsea
Against Chelsea, he will be against a side that might have the momentum with them but are definitely weak in defence. Only Burnley have conceded more goals than the Londoners among the top 10 teams in the division, which is a testament to how fragile the Blues’ defence is.
2. Defensive Dilemma for City
While the Blues may not have the best of defences, Manchester City, too, have problems of their own. The Citizens don’t really have a set backline due to the injury to Aymeric Laporte and the lack of faith Guardiola has shown in Nicolas Otamendi.
John Stones may be available but against Liverpool, it was clear that his partnership with Fernandinho at the heart of the defence was not exactly unbeatable. As a result, it would be interesting to see how Chelsea’s strong attack fares up against them.
1. End-to-end Game on the Cards
Both Manchester City and Chelsea may not be enjoying the best of times when it comes to defending but attack has been their best asset and we could expect a spectacle in this match.
The two teams love to play an aggressive vertical brand of football with Lampard’s team more direct that Guardiola’s men. A lot of end-to-end football can be expected from this clash and this could be a match that sees a lot of goals.
The home side need a win to recover from the loss to Liverpool and get their season back on track and should be the aggressor.
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