The Pride of London
Fansided

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Manchester City: 5 changes as 4-2-3-1 shape preferred

By Parth Jhaveri

LED board shows match information prior to the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Manchester City and Chelsea (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
LED board shows match information prior to the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Manchester City and Chelsea (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
Chelsea
Erling Haaland of Manchester City challenges Kalidou Koulibaly of Chelsea (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) /

Chelsea travels to Manchester to face Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup. Graham Potter’s side faced City in the Premier League on Thursday and lost 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. In less than 72 hours, the two sides meet again, albeit in a different competition and different situation altogether.

Potter’s Chelsea have been dealt with major injury blows all season and the injury list keeps on expanding. Against City, Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling were taken off in the first half because of a knee and a hamstring injury respectively. It is unlikely for either of them to feature for the Blues on Saturday.

Sterling and Pulisic join the likes of N’Golo Kante, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Armando Broja, Ben Chilwell and Ruben Loftus-Cheek on the treatment table. With several first team players out, Potter has no option but to rotate his side and make the best out of what’s available.

Potter has a conundrum to strike the right balance while also making sure that the workload is distributed and the team doesn’t look too weak against the mighty Manchester City. The Mancunian side eliminated Chelsea from the EFL cup, so they will be seeking out revenge in this cup competition.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Manchester City

Goalkeeper: Kepa Aarrizabalaga

With Edouard Mendy still sidelined, Kepa will take charge between the sticks in the cup tie. Kepa might have a difficult evening to negotiate as Pep Guardiola may choose to unleash a strong attacking unit rather than rotating his team as they chase a quadruple this season.

Home/Chelsea FC Starting 11