It took five months into the 20/21 season, but better late than never. For the first time, ever, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner will be in the same starting lineup together. Chelsea FC supporters, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays etc.
Will Werner break out of his scoring drought now? Will we see, against Manchester City, the vaunted attack that we heard so much, back in the summer, about being inevitable?
Here's your Chelsea team for #CHEMCI! ? pic.twitter.com/HTu2JJSZVG
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 3, 2021
The rest of the Blues starting XI is listed above. Injuries have really taken their toll on this team, especially in the final third. Chelsea were undisputed summer transfer window champions, splashing the cash to the tune of 220 million GBP, but yet they sit lower in the table than they were last year.
Maybe now we’ll see all that they can be? For the Manchester City team sheet look below. With No. 1 Ederson out and currently isolating due to COVID protocols, City’s No. 2 Zack Steffen makes his Premier League debut. So you’ll see American vs American when Pulisic looks to score on Steffen.
U-S-A! U-S-A!
? TEAM NEWS! ?
XI | Steffen, Cancelo, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko, Rodrigo, Gundogan, De Bruyne (C), Foden, Bernardo, Sterling.
SUBS | Carson, Aguero, Mendy, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Delap, Harwood-Bellis, Mbete.
? @HaysWorldwide
? #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/6PyFzdfCjl— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 3, 2021
Ederson is one of six players out for City today. Steffen has made four appearances, including a clean sheet in his Champions League debut.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.