Chelsea will be looking to close the gap with Liverpool back to one point when they take on Manchester City.
Liverpool occupy the final Champions League spot and are now four points above their Premier League rivals after beating Fulham 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday.
With that in mind, Chelsea need a positive result. Securing one will not be easy, but they certainly have the quality to spring a surprise.
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Romeo Lavia can inspire Chelsea to victory over Manchester City
Romeo Lavia is one Chelsea player who possesses a lot of quality, and that was clear to see the last time the Blues played City at Stamford Bridge.
The midfielder was on the losing side that day, but he still managed to put in a very bright performance.
For example, according to Sofascore, Lavia only misplaced one pass during his time on the pitch in Chelsea’s 2-0 loss to Pep Guardiola’s team. He finished the match with a pass success rate of 97%.
Lavia also made seven defensive contributions and won three out of six ground duels.
Romeo Lavia of Chelsea runs with the ball
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
The 22-year-old is one of the best receivers in the Premier League. He can accept a pass in practically any situation before giving the ball to one of his teammates.
It is a skill that really helps Chelsea to progress play and is going to be pretty useful against a side who press high and aggressively like City.
If Lavia starts and helps Chelsea to bypass City’s press, the likes of Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Pedro Neto are going to have a lot of joy in attack and should create some good opportunities in front of goal.
The Belgium international, who cost Chelsea £58m when he signed from Southampton in 2023, just has to do his job and hope the team’s attackers can connect their passes. If they can all do that consistently, there is no reason why Chelsea cannot beat City.
Lavia is not Paul Merson’s preferred midfield partner for Moises Caicedo, with the Sky Sports pundit hoping to see Enzo Fernandez in the engine room instead. However, that is unlikely to happen after Chelsea’s decision to suspend the Argentine for two games after a couple of recent interviews.
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