Man City vs. Chelsea: High stakes for struggling champs and Lampard’s kids

Looking ahead to this weekend’s clash of Manchester City and Chelsea, two teams at different crossroads, both in need of a result.

An up-and-coming outfit is hardly an apt description of Chelsea. This season, however, by giving a clear nod to youth and a commitment to open, attacking soccer, Frank Lampard has turned the big-money London club into a young and likable surprise contender for the top four.

On Saturday they will come up against a well-established Manchester City side, winners of the last two campaigns and setters of all kinds of Premier League records in the process.

Following a lackluster start to the season, Chelsea now find themselves ahead of Manchester City in the standings, defying all initial expectations for this season by winning their last six matches and seven of their last eight in the Premier League.

Beyond the results themselves, the confident manner in which Chelsea have disposed of the opposition is perhaps even more surprising and impressive. Their wins have come in decisive fashion, playing attacking, flowing soccer.

The buzz and excitement around West London in the early days of the Frank Lampard regime seems unlike any of the other eras in recent memory, generated by Chelsea’s attacking, attractive soccer, as well as the promoting of their young talents. In a sense, the first few months of Lampard’s reign are more promising and impressive than other, more established coaching regimes that eventually ended up in silverware.

Thus, Saturday’s visit to the Etihad stadium will be a true test for Frank Lampard’s men. It is only the second time The Blues face a top half of the table opponent in two months. There is no better litmus test at this point in the season than this matchup against City.

Another win or draw and we can safely dub Chelsea as the real deal, destined for great things. A loss and the critics and skeptics will be coming out of the woodwork, assigning Chelsea’s success of late on the quality of their opponents and an unsustainable trend of results considering they have given up 17 goals, tied for the 10th most in the Premier League.

Chelsea could be without Cristian Pulisic, who missed the United States’ recent matches, but is now “in contention” to play, according to Lampard. The Blues will benefit from a fully fit N’golo Kante who should prove a real nuisance breaking up City’s passing lanes. The Chelsea back line continues to be hampered by injuries to the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

For the home side, City has had a somewhat disappointing start by their high standards. After winning the last two Premier League titles, there may be indications that Pep Guardiola is setting his and the Citizens focus on the Champions League, a trophy that has eluded the legendary Catalan manager for almost a decade. City has already lost three games this season, which is only one less than during the entire last season.

Guardiola’s men are sitting in fourth place, nine points behind leaders and pace-setters Liverpool. Coming off a 3-1 loss at title-rivals Liverpool, City will be keen to reassert themselves and prove they are still a title contender despite the difference in points. To do so, nothing but a win against Chelsea will suffice.

Injuries to the back line have not helped – defenders Oleksandr Zinchenko, Aymeric Laporte and star goalkeeper Ederson have been out injured, while Vincent Kompany’s departure has hurt the resilience and organization of the back line more than anticipated. The good news is that Ederson will most likely be fit to return against Chelsea, which should provide a sense of safety at the back against a Chelsea side that has done a great job finding space behind the opponents’ back lines.

From a neutral perspective, this should be a good one as neither of these teams is likely to park the bus. These two teams lead the league in chances created. Given the injuries to the respective back lines as well as the penchant for attacking soccer on either side, we should expect an open, entertaining affair.

City may be the more desperate side heading in, and they know how to deliver a result when needed, especially at home, and especially after Guardiola has had time to prepare for the opponent. However, another stumble against a top opponent and the level of disarray will be unlike anything we’ve seen around the Etihad in the past two seasons.