The good news is, it`s the weekend and Chelsea have a game. The bad news is it`s up in Manchester against the rampant City side that keep bossing Arsenal.
As the UK recovers from the ravages of the ‘beast from the east` and storm Emma, the Chelsea faithful will be travelling North more in hope than expectation. While the last games have seen Pep Guardiola giving Arsene Wenger a lesson in how to motivate a football team, Jose Mourinho has taught Antonio Conte the art of in-game management.
Chelsea`s trip to Manchester last weekend didn`t quite go to plan for Conte. Whilst we could argue the right and wrongs of not playing a striker, the substitution of Eden Hazard, when a goal was required, didn`t make much sense. Quite how the manager is going to approach the game on Sunday will be interesting.
In the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge, Conte adopted the 3-5-2 formation he favours against the bigger sides. It was in this game that, having made a good start to his Chelsea career, Alvaro Morata picked up an injury that saw him substituted with 34 minutes gone. Conte chose to replace him with Willian rather than Michy Batshuayi, slotting Hazard into that false nine role.
It was a makeshift line-up from the start. Gary Cahill played in the back three with Cesar Azpilicueta in Victor Moses right wing-back place. At least Conte will be able to approach this match with a more recognised, settled line-up and hopefully play his squad in their correct positions.
Conte has said in his pre-match press conference that David Luiz is still injured, joining him are Tiemoue Bakayoko and Ethan Ampadu. Ross Barkley has recovered from his hamstring injury, will travel and could be on the bench.
When he’s picking his team he`ll have to make a choice between Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud. Morata`s body language was poor against United. Although, had that 3rd minute effort hit the back of the net, and not the crossbar, it could have been a different story. It would be good to see what a Hazard and Giroud pairing could achieve, particularly with that game at the Nou Camp coming up.
For Chelsea and Conte this game`s a free hit. No one will expect them to get anything from it, but it could be a good dress rehearsal for the Barcelona game. City and the Catalan side are not dissimilar in their approaches and it`s something Conte ought to use to his advantage.
Whether Conte comes out of the weekend with a blueprint to beat Barca, three points or better yet both, the next couple of weeks could be telling for the Italian.
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