Having come off the back of an encounter with hated rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup Semi-Final, Chelsea will be back in gruelling action on Saturday lunchtime as they head to Manchester City.
The two teams – along with Liverpool – have been in a title race for much of the season, although the Citizens appear to have been able to steamroll ahead after some rather disappointing results were experienced by the other two sides.
Now, Saturday’s meeting between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium could have a significant impact on deciding who takes the Premier League title – although we will keep the bingo card out and wait for either one (or both) of the managers to exclaim: “It’s only January” and “There is still a lot of football left to be played this season”.
Nonetheless, it would seem the hosts are heavy favourites to take all three points at the weekend and extend the gap at the top of the table, with Betway Sportsbook pricing them at 7/10 favourites.
Indeed, those who have watched the Blues recently will not find it too hard to disagree with at the moment, as their performances have been far from the standard that has been set by Thomas Tuchel since he arrived.
December was certainly a month to forget for the Londoners, as they struggled to close out games and get three points in most of them, although the last game in the Premier League showed that January could be a return to normality.
The Blues went up against Liverpool in an entertaining classic and one that has been billed as a great advert for Premier League football after they came back from 2-0 down to secure a 2-2 draw.
However, the Champions of Europe will be without a couple of key players for the clash at the top of the table.
A number of players will have been made unavailable due to injury or illness, whilst others are unavailable due to their involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations that is currently being competed.
Some would state that Edouard Mendy will be a huge miss for the Blues, although Kepa Arrizabalaga has – for some – proven that he is capable of stepping up when required.
Nonetheless, if we are able to get a game as brilliant as the one that Chelsea and Liverpool managed to produce almost two weeks ago, then we should all be in treat for an exciting watch!
