Chelsea revival faces Man City reality check
LONDON (Reuters) – Chelsea’s recent mini-revival faces the ultimate test on Saturday when Mauricio Pochettino’s team attempt to put the brakes on Manchester City’s express train.
Two late goals earned the London side a 3-1 victory at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday to back up a superb 3-1 win over Aston Villa in an FA Cup fourth-round replay.
Chelsea remained in 10th place, 20 points behind leader Liverpool and 18 adrift of champions City, but those two results have changed the mood at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino was coming under increasing fire as he struggled to blend a youthful but hugely expensive squad.
A 4-1 drubbing at Liverpool at the end of January was stark evidence of how far Chelsea is from challenging at the top of the table, but the Blues may go to City with added belief.
City boss Pep Guardiola will certainly be wary of a side coached by Pochettino – a manager he often found troublesome when Pochettino was in charge of Tottenham Hotspur.
“Now it is Chelsea. They played really well against Aston Villa and yesterday, in the hotel, we watched the game against Crystal Palace,” Guardiola said after his team’s Champions League last-16 win over FC Copenhagen on Tuesday.
“They played with huge personality. Now we recover and focus on Chelsea.”
City did not emerge unscathed from its trip to Denmark with Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva suffering injuries that are likely to rule them out against Chelsea, while defender Josko Gvardiol is also out with an nagging ankle ligament injury.
Injuries rarely throw City off track as it proved when coping with the absence of Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne and with that duo back in harness few will be expecting a Chelsea surprise at The Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.
That said, City could find itself under more pressure as Liverpool kicks off the weekend action at Brentford on Saturday knowing a win will put it five points clear of the reigning champion.
Third-place Arsenal can also climb above City on Saturday if it wins at Burnley.
Arsenal showed in an away 6-0 hammering of West Ham United last weekend that the Gunners are very much in the title race and they should notch a fifth successive league wins against a Burnley side fighting to escape the relegation zone.
Fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are only seven and eight points behind Liverpool and technically still outside contenders for the title.
Realistically, however, they appear set for a scrap for fourth place that could also involve Manchester United.
Tottenham hosst Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday while Villa is at Fulham while Manchester United, six points behind fourth-place Tottenham, travels to Luton Town on Sunday.
Bottom club Sheffield United will seek to build on its win over Luton as it hosts Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday while third-bottom Everton faces a crucial clash against fellow struggler Crystal Palace on Monday.