Graeme Le Saux on Man City v Chelsea: Conte must be positive but three points unlikely

Graeme Le Saux
02 March 2018

Graeme expects City to be too strong for Chelsea

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Betfair Ambassador Graeme Le Saux gives his verdict on Sunday's clash at the Etihad where Chelsea look to claim a vital three points...

"In their favour, City have had a very hectic schedule to compete with, namely the League Cup Final followed by a midweek game against Arsenal – both away from the Etihad. In that respect, Chelsea will have had more time to prepare for this huge challenge."

Man City v Chelsea
Sunday, 16:00 GMT
Live on Sky Sports Main Event / Premier League

Win or lose, Chelsea need to be positive

This game is probably more vital to Chelsea than it is to City who are so far ahead now that the real race in the Premier League is between those fighting for a position in the top four.

Even if they don't win, Chelsea need to put on a performance, so that they're able to approach the rest of the season in a more positive frame of mind as there are some huge fixtures ahead that will dictate whether they're playing Champions League football next season.

Looking at recent form, you'd have to say that the likes of United, Liverpool and Spurs - Arsenal look out of the running now - would be in front of Chelsea in the queue. However there are some vital top of the table clashes coming up which could really shake things up. Antonio Conte will know this and Chelsea need to lift their game to stay in the running; that begins this weekend.

In their favour, City have had a very hectic schedule to compete with, namely the League Cup Final followed by a midweek game against Arsenal - both away from the Etihad. In that respect, Chelsea will have had more time to prepare for this huge challenge.

They had a very good first half against Man Utd last weekend, they'll need to replicate that on Sunday but equally respect City and their ability to dictate possession and the tempo of the game. Pep Guardiola has some phenomenal players at his disposal but the likes of Willian, Hazard and Kante are in top form and I thought Morata looked dangerous at Old Trafford in the first half.

Conte's men likely to fall short

I was asked - in relation to this game - whether Chelsea should put more focus and effort into the upcoming games that they definitely have a chance of winning to ensure a place in the top four. Instead of trying to do the seemingly impossible and turn over a high-flying Man City side on their own turf.

This would clearly go against everything that a professional footballer stands for, you have to have the belief that you can beat any team on any given day and once you start thinking that you can't win, that's when you create big issues within a team and I truly don't believe that there's any way Chelsea would head to the Etihad with this kind of defeatist attitude.

I expect them to put on a really positive performance and give themselves a platform to finish out the season in style. That being said, if you look at the fall-out from Arsenal's performance in the League Cup Final, you need really need to be at the very top of your game and I just worry that Antonio Conte's men might fall short.