Coming into this match on the back of an impressive win over Liverpool in the Capital One Cup final, Jose Mourinho would know that a win on Saturday would give him an indisputable lead over the reigning Premier League Champions in the title race.
However, for the other way around, a win for Manchester City will again make it a 2 horse race for the Premier League title. Many important players are set to miss this match most of which belong to the visitors Manchester City.
Here are 5 players that are set to miss the title decider at Stamford Bridge on Saturday: –
Diego Costa
Perhaps the biggest miss of the match for the home and away fans alike would be the Spaniard obviously for different reasons. After his lunge on Emre Can in mid-week which went unnoticed at the time – albeit penalized later – it was a writing on the wall that Costa would bear the brunt of his actions very soon and with a 3 game ban looming over his head, Chelsea might be in for a tough 3 weeks ahead.
Wilfried Bony
Even though the Ivorian striker signed a 28million pound deal with the Citizens midway through this month, his National duties in the African Cup of Nations meant that the former Swansea striker had to wait for at least a fortnight to make his Manchester City debut. And with Ivory Cost now qualifying for the next phase of the competition, Bony will join with his Manchester City teammates at some point during the next week.
Yaya Toure
Even though, Bony would be a miss for Manchester City in this must-win fixture, the absence of Yaya Toure has left a gaping hole in the Manchester City midfield. Even though, Lampard and Fernandinho would work hard to fill the void that has been created by his departure, Manchester City will surely miss the presence of their 2013/14 Player of the Season against the Londoners.
Samir Nasri
Not a high profile name like the aforementioned triplet, however, Samir Nasri would have been a valuable addition to the already extravagant away bench at the Stamford Bridge on Saturday. After making the start for the Citizens earlier this month at the Goodison Park, Nasri has been ruled out for a month and is expected to return in the 2nd week of February.
Eliaquim Mangala
Even though the Frenchman hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations that were related to him in his commitment to Manchester City, his absence would pave a way for Martin Demichelis to start in the Manchester City defense along with Vincent Kompany. The defender is expected to return to first team action at some stage next month.
Chelsea Vs Manchester City will be played at the Stamford Bridge on Jan 31, 2015 at 18:30 GMT [MatchCentre]
Chelsea cs Manchester City: 5 players that are set to miss the title decider
No comments:
Post a Comment