Match Preview- Manchester City vs Chelsea

On match day 26, this Sunday the former champions Manchester City are set to mach up against Chelsea. 

Manchester city are in very good form recently as they have climbed to the top of the table overtaking Liverpool last week. Manchester City have won 4 out of their last 5 games while Chelsea have only won 2 matches out of the last 5. However, the blues last match came out on top in a 5 goal thriller with new signing Gonzalo Higuain netting in 2 goals. City manager Pep Guardiola has came out and told his players to ”play like it’s a cup final. I have a lot of respect for them as they are very organized with very good players.” Earlier in the season the first fixture between these two sides resulted in a 2-0 win to Chelsea home at Standord Bridge. Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has also came out and said ”I think City are the best team in Europe. ” We got lucky in December and were fortunate not to concede.” It is obvious that both managers and clubs have great respect for one another. Injuries for City are fullback Ben Mendy, central defender Vincent Kompany and goal keeper Bravo. For Chelsea it’s just the center-back Antonio Rudiger who is injured but may return for this match.

For my prediction I’m going to have to go for a 1-1 draw as both clubs are coming of big wins. Due to new signing Higuain I think he may net in a goal and make this match very close, it really will be a tough match though as it’s at City’s home ground.

Kick-off: 4PM GMT, 12PM EST

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Referee: Mike Dean

Match Date: Sunday, February 10th

Make sure to put your predictions in the comment section, I am very interested to see what you guys think!

 

The Struggles of the Gunners Continue

 

Following Arsenals recent defeat against Manchester City on Sunday at the Etihad, they have dropped out of the top 4 to the 6th position in the Premier league. It was a poor performance in the second half by Arsenal as it just looked like they were too shy to have a proper go at City, some even said it looked like men vs boys. Despite having some fantastic performers this season like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, etc, they have struggled on the defensive side especially. The recent season ending injury of full back Hector Bellerin, it has forced Lichtsteiner to step in but he is just not up to the standards. In my opinion I can’t see Arsenal finishing in the top four, especially due to the fact that Hector is out for the season.

A pressing issue this season was brought up by many Arsenal supporters was to sign a defender in the January transfer window. Despite this issue, manager Unai Emery didn’t feel like it was necessary to sign a defender, but instead signed the Barcelona Spaniard; Denis Suarez. He had played a short amount of the game on Sunday but sadly didn’t play up to standards.

After many years of Arsene Wenger in charge, he had finally departed last season as many supporters demanded. Under new manager Unai Emery, they have been doing even worse but some say he is not to blame. Many say owner and billionaire, Stan Kroenke, American businessman is to blame. He has been a shareholder along with another individual since 2007 until he became the sole shareholder in 2018 for 2.2 million dollars. Stan Kroenke, also owner of the N.F.L. team the Los Angeles Rams is to blame as there are some reports of him actually taking money out of the club, and providing funds from Arsenal to the Rams. Some Arsenal supporters have expressed their anger about the owner on social media.

 

Arsenal have not won the Premier league in over 15 years, the last title won was the famous undefeated invincibles containing Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera, Sol Campbell, Robert Pires and many more legends of the game. Arsenal were once known as one of the best clubs in the world but now have obtained a not so good reputation. Many supporters wish Arsenal could return to the glory days, and maybe they will; one thing is certain that they will not return to the glory days for a while.