Chelsea face Manchester City under particularly perilous circumstances. Mike Dean is one shy of 100 red cards, and he will not miss a chance to be the story in a marquee fixture.
The always-theatrical, never-in-the-shadows, yes-son-I-see-you Mike Dean will take charge of Chelsea’s games against Manchester City on Sunday. Worse, he is sitting on 100 Premier League red cards. Worse still, he has given more red cards in this fixture than any other. As Everton fans often say, please stop before we see what happens next. Here are our predictions for how Dean will fulfill his milestone.
Mason Plummer: With Mike Dean officiating this match, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where there is not at least one red card and probably 5-7 yellows between the two sides. I have to believe David Luiz will be the culprit for Chelsea to be sent off. The past few weeks have been stressful, to say the least, and given Luiz’s recent history in this fixture, it would come as a shock if he finishes the game.
Vishnu Raj: I would say David Luiz and Marcos Alonso from Chelsea and Fernandinho from Manchester City. A quick counter and – to prevent it – a nasty challenge. That is something written for this fixture.
An honorable mention to Sergio Aguero. He’ll deserve a red card for a challenge on Luiz, which should alter the match in Chelsea’s favor.
Scott Brant: Mike Dean will be waiting the entire match, finger on the card, waiting to pull. I hope players from both sides are cartoonishly tip-toeing around one another, purposely not giving Mr. Dean the opportunity.
But when looking at those most likely to acquire the 100th red, no one stands out more than David Luiz. He is so overdue for a boneheaded challenge or play. He has been playing pretty well lately, which is all the more reason he will likely satisfy Mike Dean’s thirst for reds.
Barrett Rouen: The 100th red almost certainly has to go to either of David Luiz or Antonio Rudiger. Though Andreas Christensen was excellent in his last start, I don’t think Maurizio Sarri has the spine to play a young player in a match against Manchester City. Luiz is overdue for a game-ending decision, but Rudiger is entirely capable of getting himself into a mess as well. All the rest of Chelsea’s players are church mice, which is one of the bigger problems anyway.
Kevin Peacock: Anyone who has the temerity to send off Juan Mata, as Mike Dean has done, clearly has no moral compass. Add into the mix he’s about to break a century of red cards and Chelsea have not yet picked one up this season, and the stage is set for Deano to be front and centre. The big question is who will be the lucky recipient of the prized card. Well, two players stand out as candidates. David Luiz and Sergio Aguero have a history that has kicked off in this fixture before, but maybe that’s too obvious.
Assuming it’s going to be a Chelsea player who takes an early bath, a look at earlier games could help. Both Marcos Alonso and Jorginho can consider themselves fortunate to have stayed on the field at various times this season. However, leading foul charts for the Blues is N’golo Kante, so that’s where my money would be going if I were a betting man.
Just out of interest, Fernandinho has completed the most fouls for City. More than Kante, in fact. Maybe if Deano is in the mood they’ll both see red.
Gabe Henderson: Two players that stick out like sore thumbs: Fernandinho and David Luiz. Both have a history of boneheadedness amongst their fantastic play in the defensive third. Manchester City – Chelsea games are always scrappy and, with title implications on the line, this game is bound to be intense. If Mike Dean decides to pull that 100th red card (he likely will), it’ll probably be on one of those two.
However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t dark horse candidates. Marcos Alonso, Jorginho, John Stones, and Kyle Walker are also some names to keep an eye on.
Abhishek Pancholi: Mike Dean has to make everything about himself. The man puts on a show for the cameras every time he steps onto the pitch. A heavyweight clash on a weekend with millions watching all over the world? That’s Mike’s scene, that’s Mike Dean.
City have somehow managed to avoid having one of their players sent off thus far, despite Fernandinho committing foul after tactical foul, a bit like Marouane Fellaini sans elbows.
But Chelsea have a player who has been similarly lucky – Jorginho. The Italian must have said / done something right to Lady Luck, but even she is no match for Karma. And on Sunday, Mike Dean will deliver Karmic justice and his 100th red card to Sarri’s favorite student.
With all the cameras pointing in his direction, Dean will whip out the instrument of Jorginho’s liberation in his trademark style, point out the exit to him, carry on like nothing happened, then go home and carve another notch on his bedpost.