Etihad a fortress Chelsea can’t crack M
History on Manchester City’s turf suggests home advantage will play heavily in next showdown
anchester City will be looking to get back on top of the table in Saturday’s early game, when leaders Chelsea come to visit the Etihad. City trails Chelsea by a single point.
Both teams are in good form. The Blues are looking for their eight consecutive league win, while City has only one loss in their last 15 league games, and is undefeated in six in all competitions.
Home advantage in Saturday’s match could be big, as Chelsea has lost six of their last eight visits to the Etihad in league and Cup play. City, though, has been less than impressive in a lot of their recent home matches. In their last three league games at home, Pep Guardiola’s side could only manage 1-1 draws against Middlesbrough, Southampton, and Everton.
Visiting teams at the Etihad tend to “park the bus” in front of goal, and City has had trouble finding a way through these packed penalty areas.
Against teams that don’t sit back, they have done quite well, such as in their 3-1 Champions League win over Barcelona a month ago.
The key player for City continues to be striker Sergio Aguero. He has 33 goals in his last 34 Premier League games, and scored four times in the two league meetings with Chelsea last season.
Guardiola’s biggest problem has been at the other end, with a wobbly and unsettled defence. He has yet to start the same back four in consecutive games, while captain Vincent Kompany is sidelined with yet another in a string of injuries. Against the likes of Chelsea’s Diego Costa, City will have to be careful if they want to regain top spot this season.
El Clasico
It’s the first El Clasico of the season on Saturday in Spain, as Barcelona hosts leaders Real Madrid. Barca is in second place, but is now six points out of top spot after dropping points away to Real Sociedad in a 1-1 draw last Sunday. That’s become something of a regular occurrence, as Barcelona hasn’t won a league match away to Real Sociedad since 2007!
The key for Barcelona is of course the three-pronged attack of Luis Suarez in the middle and Neymar and Lionel Messi on the flanks. The system works great when it works, which it usually does. But when it doesn’t work, Barcelona boss Luis Enrique doesn’t seem to have much in terms of a Plan B. This has been the team’s biggest problem this season.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, will be without star attacker Gareth Bale for an estimated four months. What at first just looked like a twisted ankle turned out to be significant tendon damage. It was found to be even worse than thought, when Bale underwent surgery in London on Tuesday. He isn’t expected back now until April. That’s got to hurt.
Last chance
The UEFA Champions League group stage concludes next week, which means it’s now or never for several teams.
In Tuesday’s action, the focus is on Group B, where joint leaders Benfica and Napoli clash in Portugal. Just a point back though is Besiktas, who plays away to Dynamo Kiev. If the Turkish side wins that game, then they will advance, with either Benfica or Napoli being eliminated.
On Wednesday in Group G, Olympique Lyonnais hosts Sevilla, needing a win of two goals or more to overtake the Spanish side. Lyon will look to star striker Alexandre Lacazette, who is on a goal-a-game pace in the French league.
In Group G meanwhile, Leicester City is through, but they will help decide second place. Leicester visits Porto on Wednesday while FC Copenhagen is away to Club Brugge. Porto is currently in second place, two points ahead of Copenhagen. The Danish side must get a win and hope Porto drops points to the English champions.