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Chelsea Team News vs Man City: Sterling, Mount, Pulisic, Chilwell, Mendy, James

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Chelsea are currently in the very last spot on the first page of the Premier League standings, having taken only six points of a possible 24 since October 16. Graham Potter, who took the reins of the club after Thomas Tuchel was sacked on September 7, explained his club’s slide down the table thusly:

“If you just analyse that in terms of points in the amount of games, it is hard for me to argue against it. Obviously, there are factors you have to consider. The margins of the Premier League are… that’s a narrow defeat to Manchester City, a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle with nine injuries, it’s a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, it’s a bad day against Brighton, it is a draw at Manchester United, a draw away at Brentford and at Nottingham Forest the other day.

Chelsea FC vs Manchester City FA Cup 3rd Round FYIs

Kickoff: Sunday Jan 8, 5:30pm, Etihad Stadium

Team News: Chelsea      Manchester City

Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea    Manchester City

Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK

“Points-wise, no, hard to argue. The margins and the situation, I would say it is more about how we play and I think in terms of analysing how we can improve, I thought we took a step forward today.”

When he said “today,” he was referring to the 1-0 loss at Manchester City last night, in the league. He now has to come back, jsut three days later, for a FA Cup third round clash. He’ll do so with a fresh batch of injury concerns, as both Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling got injured, very early on, in the defeat on Thursday.

Mason Mount also missed out on the match, having picked up a knock in training this week. He could fit to feature here, but less is known about the status of Pulisic, other than it’s a knee injury, and he’ll most likely miss out on this tie. Sterling is set for a scan, to assess his hamstring injury, and a timeline will be put forth once that is completed.

The duo join Wesley Fofana (knee- hasn’t featured since October 5), Armando Broja (knee- out for the rest of the season and could miss the start of next season), Reece James (knee – missed the World Cup and then got injured again during the very first game after the World Cup), Ben Chilwell (hamstring- could return next week), Edouard Mendy (shoulder injury suffered during the World Cup, but could return in the next week or two)…

… and N’Golo Kante (thigh/hamstring problem- hasn’t featured since August 14) on the sidelines.

Yes, it is not just an injury crisis, but the worst fitness cataclysm, for any European football club this season. Can’t blame really Potter for not getting results under these circumstances.

Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.