In what is expected to be an overcast evening in London, two giants of English Football currently will lock horns and it promises to be an epic showdown. Manuel Pellegrini, under pressure will lead his Manchester City side and take them to the West London where a tactically experienced Guus Hiddink and his Chelsea side will be eagerly waiting to host them.
Chelsea have suffered injuries lately and same applies for City as well. Bacary Sagna, Kurt Zouma, Radamel Falcao, Mangala, Delph, Nasri, Bony and Jesus Navas are the injured players from both the sides who will miss the game.
Before these two giants lock horns, we look at the best combined playing eleven.
Formation: 4-1-3-2
GK: Joe Hart
Joe hart has to be the best English keeper in the world right now. Hart is top notch in reflexes and he likes punching the ball a lot which comes in handy during set pieces. Even though Thibaut Curtois has pulled off some stunning saves lately, Joe hart has to be the man to be trusted upon in between the poles.
RB: Caesar Azpilicueta
Azpilicueta has made 25 appearances for Chelsea so far with 2 goals and an assist to his name. Although attacking wise the statistics don’t speak a lot, Azpilicueta has to be one of the more calculative fullbacks in England. Great pace and the ability to read the game as well as tirelessly defend his team at the back, Azpilicueta makes the playing eleven also keeping in mind that an impressive Bacary Sagna is injured for this game.
CB(s)- Nicolas Otamendi and John Terry
Nicolas Otamendi has been the best centre back for Manchester City this season. Otamendi has played 20 games for city so far with a passing percentage of 84%. He’s put up 4 man of the match displays and has got booked only 5 times.
John Terry makes the list just because Kurt Zouma is injured and he has been better compared to Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic. Terry has made 29 appearances at the age of 35 and has got only 3 yellow cards. He has a passing accuracy of 89%.
Both Terry and Otamendi will form a solid partnership, physically as well as mentally because while Otamendi is physical on one side, supplemented with pace, Terry is a brilliant reader of the game.
LB- Aleksandar Kolarov
Aleksandar Kolarov is a package. He can take set pieces and score stunners and he can run down the left wing to cross the ball to provide assists. Kolarov has made 32 appearances this season with 2 goals and 2 assists. In the league, I feel Kolarov has been the best left back and there is no doubt he was one of the assured names to be mentioned in this playing eleven.
CDM- Yaya Toure
Yaya Toure has made 15 appearances for Manchester City as a central defensive midfielder and attackingly he’s scored 4 goals and provided 4 assists. Yaya Toure has a burst of speed as well as vision that cannot be ignored. The lanky African is physical enough to dominate the proceedings and help his team out in the defence. In the possession based game, Toure can be a great asset.
Wingers- Willian and Raheem Sterling
45 appearances! That’s how many Willian has made for Chelsea. Willian can provide that burst of pace from the right and is a complete team player in every sense. He is a great free kick taker as well. Willian has scored 9 goals this season and has provided 5 assists with a passing accuracy of 83%.
On another side of the pitch is the youngster Raheem Sterling who caught our eye after his move from Liverpool to Manchester City. A versatile player, Sterling has played all over the pitch for City and he has made 38 appearances so far and has scored 10 goals. Sterling will be a real threat coming down from the left flank and his link up play with Silva, Kolarov has been brilliant throughout the tournament.
CAM- David Silva
Labelled as the magician of Manchester City, David Silva can pull out any rabbit from his hat at any time. Silva has made 26 appearances so far and although he’s scored a meagre 3 goals, he’s provided 8 assists. Statistically speaking, Silva may not look bright, but on the pitch his football is absolutely gorgeous. He can regulate the play, find the passes, play the through balls and take up clever positions in the box to slot the ball home. Silva is a must feature in this playing eleven.
Strikers- Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero
What can I say about these lads? Top quality and world class and with David Silva playing behind them it’s goals galore.
While Aguero is a world class poacher, Costa is more of the aggressive and physical type. Though Costa was tilting towards the left hand side of the pitch under Mourinho, he’s found his patch under Guus Hiddink. Costa has 14 goals in 18 appearances in the league which is an incredible record on it’s on.