Blues boss Frank Lampard needs to find a better way to try and get more out of his team. Roman Abramovich and Marina Granovskaia improved Chelsea football club to the tune of 220 million GBP this summer, and yet here we are- they’re in a worse position in the table right now from where they finished last season.
“Arsenal was probably in my opinion the worst performance of the season, because of our first half, not the second,” said Lampard.
Manchester City at Chelsea FC FYIs
Kick off: 4:30 pm ET, Sun. Jan. 3
Team News for both sides: go here
Man City Starting XI Prediction: go here
TV: NBCSN (US), Streaming: NBCSports.com
Chelsea win +190, Man City win +130, Draw +255
Premier League Form Guide: Chelsea DLWLL Man City WWDDW
Premier League Position: Chelsea 5th, 26 points Man City 8th, 26 points
“Against Villa we had more energy and we had opportunities where we should have won the game, but we have to keep those energy levels up. It was slow against Arsenal, it needs to be quick against Manchester City.
“It also needs to be disciplined against them defensively. So I want to see a lot of discipline in how we defend and a lot of speed in our game when we attack.”
So when Lampard picks his team, it will likely be the squad that could probably bring the most heart, soul and ambition.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction vs Manchester City
Mendy; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Rudiger, Chilwell; Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic; Mount, Pulisic, Giroud
Prediction: Chelsea 2, Manchester City 1
Lampard has been extremely miffed about some of the efforts put forth by his players lately, and understandably so. They’re in dire need of a result right now, and this time, I think he’ll get through to them.
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.