Chelsea will entertain Manchester City in what is expected to be a blockbuster showdown at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening. The Blues will come into this clash on the back of a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Aston Villa last weekend. In contrast, the Mancunian outfit are in a decent run of form after winning back-to-back games versus Arsenal and Burnley respectively.
Frank Lampard will stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation and could bring Reece James back to his first-team for this upcoming encounter in the Premier League.
4-3-3 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Manchester City
Defence
Kepa Arrizabalaga will keep his place in the Chelsea goal despite failing to secure a clean sheet versus the Villans on Sunday. Andreas Christensen will lineup alongside Kurt Zouma at the heart of Lampard’s defence in midweek. Both centre-backs will look to keep things tight at the back, but it won’t be easy for them to earn a shutout based on the free-scoring form of Man City since the return of Premier League football last week.
Reece James could get the nod to start at right-back while César Azpilicueta operates on the other side as the left-back. Both Chelsea full-backs will have their hands full while up against Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling out on the wide areas.
Midfield
Lampard might opt for a midfield three comprised of Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho and N’Golo Kante. All three of them will have to work hard to cover every blade of grass while chasing down the opposition at the centre of the park. We can expect Jorginho to get a start as he will pose a threat from dead-ball situations in the attacking third.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek might have to settle for a spot on the bench with the hopes of coming on as an impact substitute in the second half if Lampard calls upon his services.
Attack
Mason Mount will focus on putting in a tireless shift down the left flank while Willian tries to use his technique and guile to create some decent goal-scoring opportunities on the counter. Olivier Giroud will once again lead the charge for the Blues down the middle. The French centre-forward scored his team’s winner in his last league start, so he will fancy his chances of finding the back of the net when Man City come to town in midweek.
