Man City Kick Off New Year At Chelsea After COVID Clearance

By Daily sports on January 1, 2021

Manchester City kick off the New Year at Chelsea on Sunday, eager to move on from a recent COVID-19 outbreak and get back to putting pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool.

The match, cast into question when COVID-19 forced City to close facilities and postpone Monday’s game at Everton, is set to go ahead after the visitors returned to training on Wednesday.

Surging infections in London and the postponement on Wednesday of Tottenham Hotspur’s match at Fulham, Chelsea’s West London neighbours, raised doubts but the Premier League is confident fixtures can go ahead.

“Safety remains our number one priority, and the club will continue to proceed with great caution,” City said in a statement.

“The bubble will undergo further testing in the coming days, the results of which will inform and dictate the next steps.”

On the pitch, eighth-placed City will be chasing a third successive league win while Chelsea need to turn around a run of poor form that includes three defeats and a draw in their last five games.

“At the moment, they are a crisis club because they are underperforming,” former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton told BBC radio after the West Londoners drew 1-1 with Aston Villa and slipped to sixth.

“They are flat and that’s why (manager) Frank (Lampard) needs to get a few wins under his belt and extremely quickly because it can, as we know, turn ugly at Chelsea.”

Champions Liverpool, on 33 points from 16 matches, drew 0-0 with Newcastle United on Wednesday and travel to Southampton on Monday.

The points difference between City and Liverpool is seven points but City have two games in hand.

Manchester United, second in the standings and on a nine-match unbeaten streak, host fifth-placed Aston Villa on Friday evening. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are three points behind Liverpool.

Leeds United, fresh from a 5-0 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, travel to Tottenham Hotspur for Saturday’s lunchtime kickoff while high-flying Leicester City are at Newcastle United on Sunday.

Everton host West Ham United on Friday and Arsenal play at West Brom on Saturday.

Sheffield United, with two points from 16 Premier League games, travel to Crystal Palace, who are on a five-game winless run, on Saturday. (Reuters)

•PHOTO: Manchester City players

Source Daily sports

Posted January 1, 2021


 

You may also like...
NPFL to resume action January 14

Ronaldo, Bonucci Apologise For ‘Worst’ Juventus Of Season...

Xavi Wants ‘Total Harmony’ To Return To Barcelona...

Joshua Vs Pulev: Anthony Joshua Warns Kubrat Pulev...

Morata scores twice as Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest...

World Cup: Rohr Writes Off Super Eagles

 

Latest News CAF awards: Ajibade, Nnadozie, Edo Queens bag nominations Lagos SWAN, PAACC Hold SWAN Day At Golfview Hotels, Ikeja Crisis looms as Eagles’ form raises AFCON, W’Cup concerns Ex-Nigerian Super Falcons player handcuffed, children assaulted as police storm Anambra Football Academy Sports NFF, teammates console Nwabali on father’s death Abia Govt hails Nigeria Olympic Committee over staging an admin course in Umuahia Libya deliver Eagles 2025 AFCON ticket Eagles battle Cheetahs for 2025 AFCON ticket Yellow Greens gear up for T20 W’Cup qualifiers Tyson tips Fury to beat Joshua Sadiq absent as 22 Eagles train in Abidjan Eagles’ striking trio hot for Cheetahs, Amavubi clashes

 

Most Read Rangers International going, going . . . (55,164 views) Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (46,307 views) Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (44,370 views) Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (44,015 views) Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (43,948 views) Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (43,904 views) Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (43,743 views) NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (43,312 views) Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (42,366 views) Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (41,054 views) Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (39,507 views) John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (38,931 views)

 

Phone numbers

Tel: +234(0)8066020976
+234(0)8055068145
+234(0)7013416146
+234(0)8094272884

Email addresses

info@dailysportsng.com
support@dailysportsng.com
publisher@dailysportsng.com

Office address

No 3, Adetoun Close, Off College Road, Ogba, Ikeja Lagos.
Website: www.dailysportsng.com

Social Media