Manchester City vs. Chelsea Match Preview
Venue: City of Manchester Stadium
KO: 17:30 GMT
It has been a week that epitomises Manchester City Football Club. From the abject disappointment of conceding a late equaliser to lowly Hull on Saturday to the elation of a demolition job on Arsenal’s talented youngsters, and a subsequent first Semi-Final in 28 years. One wonders whether this bipolar club can reach further highs tomorrow against top-of-the-table Chelsea, or come crashing unceremoniously back to reality.
The West Londoners are in exceptional form- barring Wednesday’s cup exit at Blackburn- with victories over Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool proving their credentials as front runners. With a seemingly perfect balance of physicality and skill- best represented by top goal scorer Didier Drogba- Chelsea have not only emerged victorious in their ‘big’ encounters, they’ve been equally as impressive in brushing aside the league’s lower lights, with emphatic wins over Wolves (4-0), Blackburn (5-0) and Bolton (4-0) in recent months.
City’s form, meanwhile, has been unspectacular, with seven consecutive league draws racked up recently- including very disappointing performances at home against Burnley and Fulham. In contrast to Chelsea though, the League Cup has so far been the source of relief, with the 3-0 victory over Arsenal preceded by a 5-1 destruction of Championship strugglers Scunthorpe.
But will the prospect of an all Manchester Semi-Final act as a springboard for the Blues to regain form and momentum in the Premier League? Chelsea certainly aren’t the ideal opposition- City haven’t recorded a win, home or away, against them in eight attempts since a 1-0 victory at Eastlands five years ago- at a time when these two clubs couldn’t have been further apart. Fast forward to 2009 and Mark Hughes’ expensively assembled side will hope to end such a barren run.
In order to claim the three points, City will need to find the balance between a role as ‘the home side’ and defending with caution. On most occasions this season the onus will be on City to attack the opposition, but in this instance we are coming up against arguably one of the best sides in World Football, who have quality everywhere and will punish any lapses in concentration, attacking quickly and effectively. Nicolas Anelka is certainly a cause for concern in this regard- the Frenchman has devastating pace and knows how to exploit defenders without it, as City fans will know only too well. Complete focus and a greater positional intelligence than in recent months is a necessity.
Midfield is the crucial area and what could prove to be City’s undoing. Even without the talismanic Frank Lampard, Chelsea have frightening amounts of quality. Michael Essien is so strong, powerful and quick that in form, he can be unplayable. Joe Cole is a wonderful player to watch and thanks to his excellent movement, very difficult to mark properly while Michael Ballack has the strength, tenacity and vision to cause serious problems. Chelsea have an endless list of talent to choose from in midfield- John Obi Mikel, Deco and Florent Malouda are further options for manager Carlo Ancelotti. Gareth Barry, Stephen Ireland and Nigel de Jong will have an exceptionally hard task in nullifying these various threats in the centre of the park but on their day, each have the required qualities to do so.
NONE SHALL PASS
Concentration on trying to score through set plays and counter-attacks may be City’s best options in pursuit of victory. Trying to match them in an outright attacking sense is a dangerous game to play, so I’d advocate two holding midfielders in Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong or Vincent Kompany. Barry has a big part to play where corners are concerned. He has far and away the best delivery in the City squad. With Stephen Ireland sitting at the front of such a midfield, there is still a creative element but with enough solidity not to be passed to death.
Many will hope to see Robinho in action tomorrow and perhaps understandably- he’s very good at unlocking the door but does so in a patient, considered way and I don’t think we can afford the time to orchestrate attacks- we need to move the ball quickly and frighten them with pace and strength. Craig Bellamy, if fit, and Shaun Wright-Phillips can offer that, so I’d opt for them in the wide areas. Despite a brilliant performance in midweek, I’d opt for Carlos Tevez on the bench- he and Ireland are very similar in their approach and perhaps hinder each other’s play. Also, as we saw at Anfield, Tevez is exceptionally good at coming on and influencing things in the latter stages. His constant harrying would be a real thorn in the side of Chelsea’s tired defenders with half an hour to go, and I think in this game that’s the best way to utilise him. With Emmanuel Adebayor leading the line, City can opt for that quick, counter-attacking style and also have height and presence for set pieces.
With the backing of a full house at Eastlands tomorrow evening, and the success of midweek fresh in their minds, City’s players have every opportunity to secure the points. It certainly won’t be easy with Chelsea as the visitors but a club with designs on reaching the top needs first and foremost the mentality that anything is achievable. The quality, and as we’ve seen at Old Trafford, resilience, is there in abundance. Let’s make it a week to remember.
A Massive thanks to Colin the King from our city forum, www.mancityfans.net for this excellent match preview