We won’t be playing City if it’s not safe, says Frank

FRANK LAMPARD is braced for Chelsea’s clash with Manchester City to be called off after a Covid-19 outbreak at Pep Guardiola’s club. Lampard said he is not surprised football is under threat again after it emerged Chelsea’s next two opponents have been badly hit by the virus, which could leave him with a fixture headache. City, who Chelsea are due to host on Sunday, were forced to postpone their meeting with Everton last night due to the virus spreading in their camp. Chelsea’s FA Cup third round visitors Morecambe have also cancelled their next two games following a surge in cases. ‘We’ll see what the position is,’ said Lampard (below). ‘It’s a key time and a rough time, and we felt that coming with Tier Four coming in and the surge in Covid. ‘From our point of view I will find out more over the next day or two to make sure it has to be safe for the two teams. If not the (City) game won’t go ahead. ‘If we don’t play these games (City and Morecambe) we’ll keep working. ‘I’m not surprised because the way Covid is in the UK is difficult for everybody and football isn’t very different. So we’ll just have to see what the Premier League come up with but safety will be paramount.’ Following their Stephen’s Day defeat at Arsenal, Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa last night though Lampard was pleased with the reaction from his much-changed side. ‘We wanted more but if we keep playing with the same attitude we’ll get back to winning,’ he said after Olivier Giroud’s 10th career goal in 10 games against Villa was cancelled out by Anwar El Ghazi’s equaliser, his fifth goal in five games. Aston Villa manager Dean Smith said: ‘The energy levels of my players were incredible considering we only played 48 hours

ago.’