Pre Match Thread | City v Chelsea

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In the majority of games against Chelsea in recent seasons we have been the better side but Mourinho's tactics have worked perfectly. The first goal is the key. If we get it we'll win comfortably, if they do then it will be a case of trying to break them down. I fully expect the usual from Mourinho with Oscar being on the bench and Fabregas playing that role with another defensive midfielder alongside Matic.

Though we have been the better side we've struggled to convert our chances and we've allowed Chelsea to play effectively on the break. It's about the three points so in this game it doesn't matter who plays the prettier football.

It's hard to call what Pellegrini will do. In many ways I think we should play the same lineup but with Aguero for Bony, in others I think we could perhaps play a slightly more defensive lineup with Fernando in the midfield.

We'll control possession and it's a case of making sure our fullbacks get support and we're wise to their counter attacking. If we do play the same lineup Fernandinho will again have to drop in to support the defence but with Yaya and Silva in the middle, controlling the game we should be able to create a lot of chances and hopefully get a few goals.

Will be an interesting game. About time we beat them.
 
EL APACHE TEVEZ said:
I would like to see the same team as Monday,with sergio coming in for wilf.
Click to expand...

Then Chelsea would outnumber us in midfield and we won't see anywhere near as much possession as Monday, and we'll struggle to contain them at times.

We need three in midfield.
 
Judging by recent Chelsea games it will be very tight, tense and decided by small details.

They are the made for playing away from home and hitting teams on the counter-attack.

Wouldn't be too disappointed with a point. Would leave them on two points and under pressure already.
 
Can't wait for this game now. First home game of the season, we should all be well up for it, fans and players. Will be a tough game as it always is, but we've played Mourinho's Chelsea enough now to know what to expect. We have the better squad when on form, we need to go and show it.
 
Mourinho approaches these big games in the same way whether Chelsea are at home, or away, he plays really tight defensively, happy to take the draw, trying to catch the opposition on the break. I suspect City will have more of the possession on Sunday but will need to break down a Chelsea side that will be playing with 2 defensive midfielders, probably Matic and Zouma, with the likes of Hazard, Willian and Fabregas looking to clog up midfield, attack with pace when they get the ball, and support Costa up front on his own. He won't play Hazard, Willian, Fabregas AND Oscar together and I think it'll be Oscar who misses out.

Given the problems Montero caused Ivanovic on Sunday we could do worse than playing Sterling wide left and giving him free license to push on and try to beat Ivanovic for pace. With a centre half pairing of Terry and Cahill we'll get far more joy playing the ball on the floor and exploiting their lack of pace, with Aguero likely to play up front on his own we don't want to be trying too many crosses. If Yaya's groin is just a niggle then I'd go with pretty much the starting 11 from the West Brom game, apart from Aguero for Bony. Possibly I'd look at Zaba instead of Sagna too, but Sagna did alright on Monday.
 
supercity88 said:
In the majority of games against Chelsea in recent seasons we have been the better side but Mourinho's tactics have worked perfectly. The first goal is the key. If we get it we'll win comfortably, if they do then it will be a case of trying to break them down. I fully expect the usual from Mourinho with Oscar being on the bench and Fabregas playing that role with another defensive midfielder alongside Matic.

Though we have been the better side we've struggled to convert our chances and we've allowed Chelsea to play effectively on the break. It's about the three points so in this game it doesn't matter who plays the prettier football.

It's hard to call what Pellegrini will do. In many ways I think we should play the same lineup but with Aguero for Bony, in others I think we could perhaps play a slightly more defensive lineup with Fernando in the midfield.

We'll control possession and it's a case of making sure our fullbacks get support and we're wise to their counter attacking. If we do play the same lineup Fernandinho will again have to drop in to support the defence but with Yaya and Silva in the middle, controlling the game we should be able to create a lot of chances and hopefully get a few goals.

Will be an interesting game. About time we beat them.
Click to expand...
A lot of Chelsea fans seem to think they will play Matic and Zouma in front of the back 4 so I would go like for like and put Nando and Dinho in DM for extra protection. Last season Kompany and Mangala dominated Costa so I would keep the same CB partnership. Sagna is probably the safer option at RB as Zaba usually has a nightmare against Hazard. Sterling on the left will cause Ivanovic all kinds of problems. Going forward, Touré, Sterling, Silva, Aguero should be too much for them to cope with imo.

....................................................................
...............................Hart................................
....................................................................
Sagna..........Kompany..........Mangala..........Kolarov
....................................................................
.................Fernando.......Fernandinho................
....................................................................
..........................Yaya Touré............................
....................................................................
...................Silva...............Sterling...................
....................................................................
............................Aguero...............................
....................................................................
 
Sergio Picasso Aguero said:
A lot of Chelsea fans seem to think they will play Matic and Zouma in front of the back 4 so I would go like for like and put Nando and Dinho in DM for extra protection. Last season Kompany and Mangala dominated Costa so I would keep the same CB partnership. Sagna is probably the safer option at RB as Zaba usually has a nightmare against Hazard. Sterling on the left will cause Ivanovic all kinds of problems. Going forward, Touré, Sterling, Silva, Aguero should be too much for them to cope with imo.

....................................................................
...............................Hart................................
....................................................................
Sagna..........Kompany..........Mangala..........Kolarov
....................................................................
.................Fernando.......Fernandinho................
....................................................................
..........................Yaya Touré............................
....................................................................
...................Silva...............Sterling...................
....................................................................
.............................Aguero..............................
....................................................................
Click to expand...

I was thinking of matching their formation but I think that could just lead to a stalemate. We're the home side so I'd prefer we try and win the game by playing a more attacking lineup. As long as we fight to win the ball back quickly and don't over commit going forward we can deal with Fabregas, Hazard, Willian and Costa and we've then got Yaya and Silva in central areas with plenty of attacking options for Chelsea to try to deal with.
 
I see Jose is deflecting all the attention away from the team on to the medical staff.Typical Jose especially when they've played badly.
 
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