Manchester City and Chelsea combined XI
By Oli Dickson Jefford
Manchester City look to extend their lead in the title race when they take on early front-runners Chelsea tomorrow afternoon.
Chelsea may have slipped in recent weeks but this is still an intriguing contest, with some of the best players in the league across both teams.
Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel would both back their starting XI no matter what, but there is little doubt that there are some areas where one side has better depth, and even better players, than the other.
Ahead of the crunch clash tomorrow, here is our combined XI for Man City and Chelsea- based on current form and availability.
Goalkeeper
Edouard Mendy would be a huge contender to start in this combined XI, but as he is currently on Africa Cup of Nations duty the choice is more straightforward.
Though Kepa has looked more solid when playing in the past couple of matches, he is nowhere near Ederson’s level.
The Brazilian has 11 clean sheets in the league this season, more than any other player, and is the obvious choice in between the sticks as well as being perhaps the best goalkeeper in the league.
Defenders
In terms of picking defenders, one obvious name sticks out: Ruben Dias.
The Portuguese international has been consistently superb since he arrived in the Premier League and the Man City star would undoubtedly fit into any team's starting XI.
Alongside him we’re going to put Chelsea star Thiago Silva, who has surprised many since his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
The Brazilian turns 38 this year but has been a rock since arriving last season, with that new contract well and truly deserved.
Another fairly straightforward choice for this combined XI is City’s Joao Cancelo, who is finally starting to attract more well-deserved praise after a successful campaign to date.
Centre-backs and left-backs are easy choices but right-back is more difficult; the obvious candidate would have been Reece James, but his recent injury means he will be out of action.
Cesar Azpilicueta has come in and performed admirably in his place, but we’re going to plump for a third City defender in Kyle Walker.
The England star arguably offers more going forward, and his defensive ability has also noticeably improved recently.
Midfielders
Much like with our centre-backs, there are two fairly straightforward choices in centre midfield for this combined XI.
N’Golo Kante continues to be just as impressive at Stamford Bridge as he has been ever since arriving in England to play for Leicester, and would comfortably find himself in any Premier League team.
Similarly, Rodri has been incredibly consistent ever since he joined City and he too is an easy choice for the combined XI, being a key reason as to why his side now have a ten-point advantage in the league.
Attacking wise, one clear choice is Bernardo Silva, who looked like he could be leaving the Etihad last summer but has proven himself to be crucial for Guardiola’s side.
While it would also be impossible to leave out another of Guardiola’s star men, Kevin De Bruyne; the Belgian is one that got away for Chelsea and is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world.
There are several potential candidates who could fit in with this system but our final midfielder is going to be Mason Mount.
Mount is continuing to improve significantly under Thomas Tuchel and is developing into an exceptional footballer, and it would be incredibly unwise to leave him out.
Forwards
Picking a forward for this combined XI is perhaps the most difficult part.
City do not play with a recognised striker, with Raheem Sterling often pushed up front in a false nine role as Gabriel Jesus is now utilised more on the wing, while Chelsea’s Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku are not setting the world alight currently.
On this occasion we are going to plump for Lukaku however, in part due to his record in the past.
He might not be firing quite yet, but he is arguably the best out-and-out striker in either squad.
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