PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: MANCHESTER CITY V CHELSEA
TACTICAL BRIEF
Chelsea have had no joy on this particular hunting ground for five years. Former Blue Clive Walker considers where Sunday's game may be won or lost.
Key battles
'Would a draw be a bad result, given the closeness of Tottenham and Arsenal in the race for top four places? In the grander scheme of things a point at the home of the champions would be perfectly acceptable. However if we want second spot a win should be firmly in our minds.
'Chelsea won it back to back titles in 2004-2006 and if you ask our players they might well say the second one was the more satisfying.
'City have found it tougher. They've not done well in Europe. They've had injuries - Vincent Kompany is such a crucial player and he's been missing during the bad little run they had. When big players are missing it's an indicator of strength in depth.
'But you saw a glimpse last week against Leeds, that ruthless streak they had last season. They still have that with the likes of Toure, Agüero, Tevez, Silva, Dzeko. Even with great players confidence is a massive factor and not having it can rock you.
'Chelsea showed again on Thursday that we can susceptible to the attacking midfielders, the second strikers. We will be looking to limit opportunities against City because they have clever and awkward individuals who ghost into dangerous areas or run from deep.
'Problems can come from a lot more players than with other sides, even Man United. So defensively we really have to have a good day or their quality players could punish us.
'A big area for Chelsea is defensive midfield, which has to work hard and stay concentrated. In defence, if John Terry is selected then it will be his biggest test since returning from injury. We need him to have the impact Frank Lampard did when was back to fitness. Terry can be a force at both ends of the pitch.
'Chelsea have threats City will worry about too. They have full-backs who are better going forward than defending, leaving gaps that the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Victor Moses could exploit. That concern could help pin those City players back and reduce their attacking threat. Of course, Hazard will be cock-a-hoop after his terrific goal on Thursday. This game will be all about the attacking three on either side.
'Kompany would be a miss for City if he's not available again. We know the boys will have opportunities and the chances need to be taken. The other night we had something like 22 shots, six on target so we need to be more clinical today.
'The last few games have shown we have players on the bench who can have an impact. We were better second half against Prague but we needed to pull out the choke a bit and that's what Hazard and others can give you, which is for the good of the team.'
Squad fitness news
Oriol Romeu (knee) is the only player ruled out for Chelsea. For Man City, Vincent Kompany's calf injury makes him a doubt.Gareth Barry (ankle) faces a fitness test and Micah Richards (knee) is out.
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