Δευτέρα 3 Φεβρουαρίου 2014

Man City v Chelsea: Time for Jose Mourinho to park the bus?



BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE

  • Venue: Etihad Stadium
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  • Date: Monday, 3 February
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  • Coverage : Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live, MOTD2 highlights on BBC One at 22:35 GMT
Manchester City have swept all before them at Etihad Stadium in the Premier League this season, winning all 11 home games so far and scoring 42 goals in the process.
With the sort of attacking form they showed in demolishing title rivals Arsenal 6-3 before Christmas, the feeling is City could steam-roll their way to the title.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho no doubt sees things differently but how can his side, who are only three points behind Manuel Pellegrini's men in the table, stop them?
BBC Sport football pundits Robbie Savage and Mark Lawrenson consider Mourinho's likely approach - and whether it will work.

Savage: Stifle City and cut off Silva service

To deal with Manchester City, I think Jose Mourinho will have to park the bus, sit deep and try to hit them on the counter.
Play media
Mourinho spoke of West Ham playing "19th-Century football" to stop his side in midweek.
In fact, as one historian pointed out in an article on the BBC Sport website, football from that era was actually very attacking - and I'd be surprised if it is the approach Chelsea adopt at City.
They will sit deep, as they did at bothManchester United and Arsenal. They came away with a clean sheet and a point from both those games, and a point at City will be a very good one.
Against United and Arsenal, Chelsea stifled the opposition midfield and it worked.
However, the Blues will still have to be careful if they employ that tactic on Monday because if City are forced to go wide, they can still cause problems with their dangerous full-backs.
Aleksandar Kolarov has vastly improved going forward while Pablo Zabaleta is a key weapon for them. So if you stifle the middle, you still have them to deal with.
Another danger with Manuel Pellegrini's side is that if you do go at them, they can hit you on the counter-attack. I think Blues midfielder Ramires has the legs to track back with Yaya Toure, but City just have so many other options.

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