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The Premier League is back this weekend! Once again, it's a big match once again coming in on Saturday, as the mighty Citizens prepare to face the Blues at Stamford Bridge. It promises all kinds of drama, passion and exciting moments, history being the witness.
Manchester City sits 10 points above Chelsea, with a staggering goal difference of 38. They have scored 12 goals in their last 5 away games in the Premier League, which is a big reason to worry for the Chelsea staff and fans.
It is a huge test for Chelsea and Sarri, as they have won just one game out of the 4 games they have played against the top 6 this season. They won at Stamford against Arsenal in the second matchday, drew to Liverpool and Manchester United in the following weeks and were beaten badly by the North Londoners (Tottenham) just a few days ago.
Manchester City goes through relatively less pressure than Chelsea, as the latter sits 4th in the table, just above Arsenal on goal difference. A win will boost their confidence by an unbelievable margin and that might be helpful for Sarri to work on the squad more freely.
However, it is unlikely that the Blues will pull off a huge upset by defeating the Premier League champions, due to the following points.
#4 Attacking prowess
Manchester City have been in incredible form this season - thanks to their impressive forwards, not taking anything away from their solid back four. The likes of Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Leroy Sane, Jesus and their main man Sergio Aguero together have scored an astonishing 45 goals since the start of the Premier League this season.
The only team who could successfully hold them down to a zero-goal scoreline was Liverpool. With Aguero injured, Chelsea have a bit of luck supporting them, but let's not consider Gabriel Jesus to be anything less than the Argentine.
Talking about Chelsea, their attacking options have not performed on a commendable level this season. Morata and Giroud have just scored six goals in total, 2 less than Raheem Sterling alone.
Eden Hazard, on the other hand, commenced the season well, but he is yet to score a goal in his last 5 appearances for the Blues. Manchester City are clearly on the winning side when it comes to attacking prowess unless Chelsea is blessed by a miracle.
#3 Fatigue
Chelsea's main man and striker Eden Hazard played out the entire 90 minutes against Fulham and Wolves in the past week. He has not enjoyed a minute of rest in both the games, and this might, in turn, affect his work rate and game on Saturday against the title leaders.
Sarri did not probably use him wisely, and it will be a silly move to start him against Manchester City this weekend. Eden Hazard has come on from the bench to give sublime performances for the Blues. One which I remember was against Arsenal, as he dribbled past Hector Bellerin and Mkhitaryan with ease in the 76th minute to set up Marcos Alonso for the winner.
Rudiger, Azpilicueta and Kante have also played a significant amount of time for the Blues in their past two games, which might restrict them to perform at their level best in the game which could decide their season ahead.
#2 Defensive problems faced by Chelsea
On Wednesday, Chelsea suffered a horrific defeat by the hands of Wolves. The 2-1 scoreline was enough to make the anti-Chelsea fans happy and the internet celebrated at their fullest. It was a bad defensive display by the Blues, and they paid the cost for it.
Chelsea have conceded six goals in their last 4 games, scoring just 4. David Luiz and Rudiger have registered an insane amount of passes in games this season, and they are said to be perfect for Sarri's style of play. However, their inconsistent performances and silly defensive errors have cost Sarri's side vital points.
Chelsea fullback Marcos Alonso tops my list of the most overrated players currently, the reason being his below average performances for Chelsea. The Spanish player was deployed as a left wing-back under Conte, but he has switched back to playing as a fullback under Sarri. It is a rare sight to see him track back and defend, leaving the whole left side empty for the opposition to counter attack, and this creates problems for David Luiz and Jorginho.
Sterling has the pace to get past the best of fullbacks, and it won't be much difficult for him to outrun Marcos Alonso. Alonso's game has drastically fallen this season, as he offers no defensive cover, and neither has he provided any assists this season.
#1 Current form
Manchester City have been in sublime form this season, scoring goals for fun and not conceding goals in the toughest of games. They have conceded just 0.5 goals per game on average.
Chelsea, on the other side, started off the season pretty well, being undefeated for nearly 10 games in a row in the PL, and they were the only side to be undefeated from all teams in the top 5 leagues this season until they met Tottenham Hotspurs at Wembley.
Since then, they have struggled to win points and keep clean sheets. Chelsea has bagged just 9 points out of 15 in the last 5 games, whereas Manchester City has won all 15, scoring 13 more goals than the Blues and conceding 1 less.
Going by their current form, it is likely that Manchester City will bag the 3 available points with an easy win, but a face-off between the top dogs is never easy.
