While everyone is focused on international fixtures, Frank Lampard won’t have his feet up. His mind will already be on the next game, a pivotal clash with Man City at the Etihad next weekend.
Chelsea can all but hand Liverpool the title with a shock win, but even a draw would be great for us, and terrible for City.
We can expect them to come at us all guns blazing after a humiliating loss last week against the Reds, and we can turn that to our advantage. As they come forward, we should be able to devastate them on the counter, just like Liverpool.
Christian Pulisic has pulled out of the US’ friendly game, so he should be ready to slice open City on the break, with Willian on the other flank and Callum Hudson-Odoi ready to come on later. That’s a lot of speed and dribbling skill, and Tammy’s running up front will be vital too.
It all comes down to whether our defence can given them a strong enough platform. We know we will come under a lot of pressure, and sitting deep isn’t really how Tomori and Zouma want to play. They are naturally more aggressive defenders, looking to cut out the ball higher up, so this will be a test.
Expect Cesar Azpilicueta to return at right back to add some defensive nous, for the early stages at least. If we can just keep Pep Guardiola’s team at bay, we will have a great chance to win a result on the counter, especially as the game wears on.
