Chelsea vs Manchester City: Antonio Conte faces a key formation dilemma against Pep Guardiola’s frightening attack
Premier League showdown against City is arguably our toughest clash of the season so far
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HOT on the heels of our incredible mid-week Champions League exploits against Atletico Madrid comes an equally if not more challenging opponent in the shape of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
This match is the last of a tough September that’s seen us beat Leicester, Qarabag, Nottingham Forest, Stoke and Atletico over three separate competitions.
In this period we have scored 19 goals while conceding just three on the way, and only dropping points in the goalless draw with Arsenal.
With limited time to get back from Spain to recover and prepare for this match, and with City having played a day earlier at home, this game is our toughest test of the season so far in terms of opponent and strain on the squad.
After the lads' heroics on their Spanish sojourn, it’s understandable there will be some tired legs in the squad, and with David Luiz suspended after his late red card against Arsenal, Conte will again have to shuffle his pack and make full use of the squad.
Players such as Willian, Davide Zappacosta, Andreas Christensen and Pedro could well replace Cesc Fabregas, Victor Moses and Luiz without any real drop in quality.
But much will depend on which formation Conte decides to deploy.
Do we stick with the 3-5-2 and the more solid base that served us so well in Madrid, or will we revert to a 3-4-3 formation and put early pressure onto the weakened City defence?
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With Alvaro Morata having limped away from the Wanda Metropolitano, Conte could also be without his talismanic striker with Chelsea’s physios set to assess the Spaniard during training before making any decision.
Despite spending the GDP of a small country on transfers in the past two seasons, City visit Stamford Bridge with some key injury concerns.
⚽ Ian Wright's Premier League Tips ⚽
Former striker Ian Wright selects his top tips for Saturday's action.
"Romelu Lukaku has started exactly as you’d want a £75m signing to start.
"Not only has he scored a load of goals but he’s also silenced those questioning his link-up play and the first touch.
"He’s the only player in my mind when it comes to the first goalscorer market - and I fancy United to get loads againsrt Crystal Palace."
Benjamin Mendy has ruptured his cruciate ligament and may not play again this season leaving Guardiola without a recognised left-back, he also joins the ever-injured Vincent Kompany on loan to ‘Injury FC’.
Despite Chelsea weathering the storm in Madrid, they were left facing a frightening array of attacking talent against City.
But a freak accident on Friday morning has made our task a little easier.
With talismanic front-man Sergio Aguero facing two to four weeks on the sidelines after his taxi crashed into a pole in Amsterdam, City will have to re-adjust their forward line as well as their defence.
Not that they are short in that area, with Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, David Silva and others able to step up and affect a game, but Aguero has been in red hot form this season and will be a big miss.
It will be a shame for such a showpiece occasion to miss so many stars, yet there will be more than enough talent on both sides to make for a hopefully memorable match.
We set down a marker and put in a performance few expected in Europe this week, Saturday gives us the perfect opportunity to do the same again in the Premier League.
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