- Chelsea play host to Manchester City this Thursday, but which key battles will decide the outcome of the match?
- Raheem Sterling, Aymeric Laporte, N’Golo Kante and Kepa Arrizabalaga could play key roles.
This Thursday sees a major clash in the Premier League, as Chelsea play host to Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. Both sides will be gunning for a win. Chelsea are currently in fourth place and need as many points as they can muster in order to cement a Champions League spot. City, meanwhile, will be hoping to put pressure on league leaders Liverpool, even if their own title challenge now looks over.
Both Frank Lampard and Pep Guardiola can call upon some seriously talented players, but these 5 key battles could end up deciding the victors.
#1 Kepa Arrizabalaga vs. City’s attack
Perhaps no other Premier League side are as blessed with as many talented players as Manchester City. Pep Guardiola can call upon a simply ludicrous amount of talent, from Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva to Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.
That means that even with Sergio Aguero likely sidelined with a knee injury, Chelsea’s defence are going to have a serious battle on their hands come Thursday night.
The key man for the Blues then could well be goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Spaniard – who famously cost over £70m in the summer of 2018 – has been widely criticised for a series of errors during the current campaign.
However, after regaining his position as the Blues’ #1 prior to the season’s suspension, his form has begun to improve again. In his most recent match against Aston Villa, he made a number of strong saves and generally looked solid.
#2 Cesar Azpilicueta or Reece James vs. Raheem Sterling
Thursday’s game could well be won or lost by either team in the wider areas of the pitch. And one clash that could prove to be pivotal will likely pit Raheem Sterling against either Cesar Azpilicueta or Reece James.
Lampard preferred the Spanish veteran over the younger James in Chelsea’s most recent match with Aston Villa, knowing that his chosen right-back would be up against the dangerous Jack Grealish. That was probably due to Azpilicueta’s superior defensive stats, as he averages more tackles, interceptions and clearances per game.
However, Sterling is more direct than Grealish and offers more of a goal threat. That could mean that Lampard chooses James to combat him, as he did when Chelsea took on Crystal Palace earlier in the season.
That game saw James do a tremendous job of keeping Wilfried Zaha quiet. The England U-21 international was able to use his pace to shackle Zaha – and Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners in the end.
This match will clearly be different as City are far more dangerous than Palace going forward, and Lampard may well prefer the solidity that Azpilicueta brings. Either way though, Chelsea’s right-back will have a hard time with Sterling, who has scored 21 goals and made three assists this season already.
#3 Kevin De Bruyne vs. N’Golo Kante
Right now it’s hard to dispute the idea that Kevin De Bruyne is the Premier League’s best creative midfielder. The Belgian is simply able to spot passes that no other player can and the proof is in his statistics.
The 2019-20 campaign has seen him deliver an incredible 18 assists for his teammates, and he’s also chipped in with 10 goals. It stands to reason then that any team wanting to stop Manchester City will almost certainly need to stop De Bruyne.
Thankfully, Chelsea can call upon one of the best defensive midfielders in the world in their attempt to prevent him from influencing proceedings. His name? N’Golo Kante.
It’s true that the Frenchman’s style has slightly shifted over the past couple of seasons. His Premier League title-winning campaign at Leicester City saw him average 4.7 tackles and 4.2 interceptions per game. And that’s been reduced to 2.1 tackles and 2 interceptions per game this season.
However, that’s largely been due to him pushing forward more often. He’s still certainly got the ability to stifle an opposing side’s creative hub. And Lampard will need him at his best to stop De Bruyne.
Whoever comes out on top of this duel could well end up deciding the outcome of the game.
#4 Aymeric Laporte vs. Tammy Abraham
When the 2019-20 campaign is all said and done, Manchester City fans will probably be able to pinpoint the moment that their club surrendered the Premier League title to Liverpool. It happened back in August when defender Aymeric Laporte suffered a knee injury in a game against Brighton.
City were unbeaten at that point, but without the Frenchman, their results quickly began to slip. However, Laporte was able to return in late January, and in the five Premier League games that he’s been involved in since, Guardiola’s men have not conceded a single goal.
The simple truth is that City are a far better team defensively when Laporte is involved. That’s why his clash with Chelsea’s central striker – likely Tammy Abraham – will be key to Thursday’s result.
Lampard preferred Olivier Giroud to Abraham in Chelsea’s win over Aston Villa. But despite the Frenchman finding the net, the England international is still the Blues’ top striker. He’s scored 16 goals this season and offers more of a threat than Giroud thanks to his superior movement and speed.
Laporte is not the kind of defender to throw himself into last-ditch tackles. The Frenchman only averages 0.8 tackles per game. But his positional sense and ability to cut attacks off before they really begin is second-to-none.
If Abraham can get the better of Laporte then not only could he find the back of the net himself, but he could also open chances up for his teammates. This could give Chelsea the chance of a victory.
#5 Kyle Walker vs. Christian Pulisic and Marcos Alonso
Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker came under fire during the season’s suspension, as he broke the UK’s lockdown rules on two occasions. But that hasn’t stopped him from maintaining his position as Pep Guardiola’s first choice in the position.
Walker was rested for Monday’s win over Burnley, but it’s likely he’ll replace Joao Cancelo for the clash with Chelsea. If that’s the case, then he’ll have his hands full with two of Frank Lampard’s key men.
Christian Pulisic returned from injury against Aston Villa, coming off the bench to score Chelsea’s equaliser. The American clearly had more impact than Ruben Loftus-Cheek – who started in the left-sided forward berth – and will likely start against City.
The duel between Pulisic and Walker could well prove to be a pivotal one in this game, but Walker will also have to keep his eyes open elsewhere. That’s because Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso loves to make raids down his side of the pitch in order to put crosses into the box.
Villa right-back Ezri Konsa dealt with Alonso well on Sunday, restricting his crossing ability. But if Lampard deploys Pulisic too, Walker may struggle to cope with both men.
If Chelsea can, therefore, utilise attacks from that area of the pitch, they may find some success going forward, tipping the balance in their favour.
