A combined lineup of the best players from Chelsea and Man City.
With Chelsea and Manchester City representing two of the Premier League clubs who owe much of their recent success to their purchases by wealthy foreign owners, this clash has been hailed ‘El Cashico’ in recent years, and funnily enough this intriguing Premier League contest falls on the same weekend as the El Clasico match between La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.
While Spain’s big two will look to get ahead in their title race, this match at Stamford Bridge could also be crucial in determining the destiny of this season’s title, as neither look like they can afford another bad result as in-form Arsenal lead the chase at the top of the table. Both Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini have once again kept up their clubs’ tradition of spending big on some of the world’s best players this summer, and as always some superb talent will be on show when they meet this Sunday.
We look at a combined XI of the best from both of these sides, with some difficult choices having to be made as so many world class players compete for limited spaces…
Defence
Petr Cech – The Chelsea goalkeeper is surely an undisputed choice in goal for this combined XI, with Manchester City’s Joe Hart enduring a difficult start to the season for club and country. Cech remains one of the best in the world in his position and in games as tight as this one, a mistake or a fine save could be the crucial detail that makes all the difference in the outcome of the match.
Pablo Zabaleta – A very close call at right-back with Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic also one of the top players in the Premier League in this position, but Zabaleta has truly become a great leader at the back for City in the last few years and has a knack for getting forward to score the occasional important goal.
Ashley Cole – With two former Arsenal left-backs to choose from, Chelsea’s Ashley Cole gets the nod over City’s Gael Clichy. The England international is simply a more reliable and consistent performer than his error-prone counterpart and has been one of the best players in the country for much of the last decade.
Vincent Kompany – Although the commanding Belgian centre-back looks set to miss this weekend’s game, City captain Vincent Kompany is a world class defender and leader, making him one of the best in the world in his position, and an inspiration to his team-mates.
Gary Cahill – A difficult choice, but Gary Cahill’s consistency puts him ahead of the eccentric David Luiz and the ageing John Terry as Kompany’s partner here, while City’s other centre-back options of Joleon Lescott and Matija Nastasic don’t really come that close to making the cut on current form.
Midfield
Yaya Toure – Undoubtedly one of the very best players from both these teams, and one of the best in the world in his position, Yaya Toure forms one half of a fine-looking defensive midfield in this 4-2-3-1 formation. The Ivory Coast international is an absolute powerhouse at his best, and is also blessed with superb skill and technique, making him the perfect all-round midfielder. The 30-year-old already has 6 goals in 10 games this season, and scored a fine effort against Chelsea in City’s 2-0 win over the Blues at the Etihad Stadium last season.
Ramires – Beating his fellow Brazilian Fernandinho to a spot as Toure’s midfield partner, Chelsea’s Ramires deserves a starting place for his remarkable rise over the last few years. The 26-year-old arrived as a promising youngster from Benfica in 2010 and is now a vitally important player for Mourinho’s side. As well as tremendous work-rate in his defensive duties, Ramires is another player, like Toure, who gets forward from deep to good effect, scoring 26 goals and contributing 14 assists in 162 appearances for Chelsea. This midfield combination would certainly be quite a force to be reckoned with. Blues veteran Frank Lampard is somewhat unfortunate to miss out on a place, but these two are certainly players at their peak at the moment.
Attack
Eden Hazard – A terrific talent, Eden Hazard has enjoyed the start to his second season with Chelsea and looks capable of building on a promising first year at Stamford Bridge, with great all-round skill and technique in providing his side with good numbers of goals and assists.
Juan Mata – Another from Chelsea’s immense collection of attacking midfield talent, Juan Mata has done well to establish himself in the side again after being surprisingly dropped by Mourinho at the start of the season. Undoubtedly one of the best playmakers in the world, Mata provided an amazing 19 goals and 35 assists for the Blues last season.
David Silva – A similar player to Mata and his international colleague, Manchester City’s David Silva completes this exciting looking attacking midfield three. The former Valencia man looks back to his best this season after some rather jaded displays last year, and beats some truly big-name opposition for a place here, with the likes of Oscar, Andre Schurrle, Willian, Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri all missing out.
Sergio Aguero – Spear-heading the attack is one of the most deadly finishers in the Premier League, Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero. The clinical Argentine already has 9 goals in 10 games in all competitions this season, including 6 in the league to put him just behind current top scorer Daniel Sturridge. While Chelsea’s collection of strikers doesn’t look so great at the moment, Aguero still beats some big names such as Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o for a spot, as well as his own team-mates Alvaro Negredo, Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko.
Chelsea just edge this lineup with six players to Manchester City’s five, though with so many talented players in both squads it was always going to be a close call, and many of the names not included could form a pretty impressive combined XI of their own.