Chelsea will welcome Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Thursday looking to take all three points from this contest.
The visitors come into the match on the back of a lacklustre 1-1 draw against Everton. On the other hand, the Blues recorded a similar result against Nottingham Forest as they failed to take the lead with the match ending with a scoreline of 1-1, so they will have to pick up their game in order to stay in contention for the league title.
Graham Potter will set his players up in a 4-3-3 formation and is expected to opt for a strong first team for this home encounter. Kai Havertz will continue to lead the line up top while Hakim Ziyech plays from the start at the right wing spot.
4-3-3 Chelsea Predicted XI Vs Manchester City
Defence
Kepa Arrizabalaga will continue to operate in between the sticks for the Blues as he looks to keep a clean sheet at home after conceding one in his last time out. Potter will allow Kalidou Koulibaly to form the centre-half partnership with Thiago Silva at the heart of the blues’ backline, as they try to keep things solid on the defensive end of the field throughout the game.
Cesar Azpilicueta and Marc Cucurella will continue at the right and left back positions, respectively, looking to get forward to stretch the opposition in attack and keeping their shape defensively.
Trevor Chalobah will be available for selection on the bench as he provides cover for the defensive positions.
Midfield
Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount will anchor the midfield for the Blues as they look to dominate possession at the centre of the park and engineer some decent chances in the final third.
Denis Zakaria will drop to the bench hoping to impress in the second half if Potter calls upon his services.
Attack
As mentioned earlier, Hakim Ziyech will replace Christian Pulisic in the final third to start at the right wing while Raheem Sterling move to the opposite flank. Both of them will be responsible for creating some inviting chances for Chelsea in the front of the goal.
Kai Havertz will spearhead the West London club’s attack up top. He will have to find a way to cause a few headaches for the City centre-backs this Thursday.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will have to be content with a spot on the bench but might come on to influence the game in the latter stages if the Blues are in need of a goal by then.
SOURCE: the4thofficial.net
