Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Chelsea’s injury crisis may force Graham Potter to change the shape of his team in Sunday’s FA Cup third-round clash.
The Blues’ extensive injury list, which now also includes Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling, is an obvious problem for Potter ahead of the trip to the Etihad Stadium.
Despite the team’s admirable effort at Stamford Bridge in midweek, it was not enough as Manchester City collected the three points thanks to Riyad Mahrez’s second-half winner.
The problem remains, however. Chelsea may have lost too many key players to injuries to compete with Manchester City on equal footing.
Guardiola even admitted that he was surprised that Chelsea were without two important players, in particular, in midweek.
“It’s better for us to face Chelsea at home with our fans after a victory – that’s much better definitely,” said the former Barcelona manager ahead of the FA Cup clash (via Manchester City’s official website).
“It could be a very different game, maybe Graham changes the shape, I don’t know.
“I know they struggled with injuries with two or three important players.
“Jorginho wasn’t there, Mason Mount wasn’t there, I don’t know the reason why.”
Jorginho was an unused substitute in that game, but Mount was out due to an injury in training.
On a more positive note, Chelsea recently confirmed that their new signings; Benoit Badiashile and David Datro Fofana, could feature against Manchester City.
This gives Potter more options, although the pair’s lack of training sessions with the team obviously carries a risk as well.
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