Pep Guardiola must use Man City title race advantage at Chelsea

Manchester City head to Chelsea with the best squad in the league and a manager knowing how to get the best out of them – the big Stamford Bridge talking points

Guardiola’s balance

Pep Guardiola would never admit it in public, but his squad management has been at the heart of Manchester City’s four league titles in five years.

The coach’s methods can be too demanding for some, especially over time, with Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus among those to seek out new challenges elsewhere. But even if players aren’t set on staying in Manchester, Guardiola needs to know that they will be 100 per cent committed to the shirt whenever they put it on – like Bernardo Silva.

Being able to know who is best-placed to play in which game has been one of the manager’s biggest strengths at City, and it is this familiarity with his squad that sets them out as title favourites despite trailing in the table. Whether it is international experience or a fresh face, the selection calls are nearly always right.

Guardiola needs to find the right balance at Chelsea after just one point from six in their last two home games, having to decide whether to stick with the energy of Rico Lewis and whether any of Joao Cancelo, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden have done enough to work their way back into the XI.

He doesn’t need to placate the whole fanbase, he just needs a win.

Ruthless at Chelsea

Graham Potter’s honeymoon period at Chelsea is well and truly over and their form straddling the World Cup break has been fairly average. If a 2-0 defeat of Bournemouth saw them back to winning ways in December, they were second-best in their 1-1 draw with lowly Nottingham Forest days later and sit 10th in the table.

City now face them twice in a week and, having already knocked them out of the league cup, have the opportunity to effectively end their chances in three competitions. It won’t be easy but up against a side lacking confidence it would give the Blues a huge boost.

Sterling chance

Sterling only came on in that league cup game when the match was already over but has the chance from the start at Stamford Bridge to remind City of what they have been missing without him last season. Sterling never convinced all of the City supporters but his record was undeniably impressive and he was capable of big moments in the big matches, as well as being a more direct winger than most still in the squad.

Sterling left on good terms, but will still be keen to demonstrate why Chelsea bought him from a rival.

Alvarez option

Julian Alvarez is available after returning early from his post-World Cup break and expectations and hopes are higher for him after seeing what he did in Qatar. The presence of Erling Haaland means he still won’t start every game and he may not have the fitness to start on Thursday – the FA Cup may be a more realistic option.

However, Guardiola showed against Everton that he was willing to throw him on in search of a goal and the 22-year-old has shown over the last two months that he can thrive on the big stage.

SOURCE: manchestereveningnews.co.uk