Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has provided a fitness update on his squad, ahead of the club’s upcoming meeting with Manchester City.
Chelsea host City
The Blues are set to welcome Pep Guardiola’s men to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, for the marquee fixture of the Premier League weekend.
Chelsea will of course head into proceedings in search of a bounce-back result, on the back of a concerning spell of form of late.
After looking as though they had finally found their stride following a disappointing opening to the campaign, the capital giants have since majorly struggled over the last couple of weeks.
The Pensioners have notched just a single win from their last 6 across all competitions, the latest of which saw Lampard and co. held to a 1-1 stalemate by Aston Villa.
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 28: (l – r) Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante,Jorginho, Cesar Azpilicueta and Edouard Mendy of Chelsea appeal to to match referee, Stuart Attwell after Aston Villa’s first goal scored by Anwar El Ghazi (Not pictured) during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on December 28, 2020 in London, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
In turn, Chelsea have slipped off the pace of the Premier League top-4, and could finish the weekend sitting as low as 9th in the English top-flight table.
Ziyech in/James out
As such, it goes without saying that Frank Lampard will be desperate to see his side get back to winning ways in 48 hours’ time, with a statement downing of Man City.
As confirmed by the Blues boss on Friday, however, his side’s efforts to do just that will come without the services of a key defender.
Speaking in a press conference this afternoon, Lampard was drawn on the current fitness levels of his squad.
And the English tactician’s first update surrounded Reece James, who is set to sit out versus City, having failed to recover from a hamstring problem:
‘Reece James is out, he’s got a small hamstring problem.’
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Reece James of Chelsea scores his sides second goal during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea at American Express Community Stadium on September 14, 2020 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
The news regarding Hakim Ziyech, on the other hand, proved of a more positive nature.
Moroccan creator Ziyech has not featured in any of Chelsea’s last 6 outings, since picking up a hamstring injury of his own versus Leeds earlier this month.
Lampard confirmed, however, that the summer addition to his squad has taken part in training over the last couple of days, and therefore looks set for a return to the club’s matchday squad on Sunday:
‘He’s fit to train and has trained the last two or three days so I’ll have to make the decision on whether he’s ready to start.’
The final noteworthy takeaway from Lampard’s press conference surrounded the Covid-19 situation at Stamford Bridge, with the Chelsea boss having confirmed that, though, unlike City, his playing squad have not been hit by the virus, a number of the club’s backroom staff have returned positive tests:
‘We know that Manchester City had some positives within their training ground. We have had a couple ourselves but not on the playing staff and that’s the current situation.’
#ICYMI Team news updates for City as Lampard confirms defender set to miss out 👇
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 1, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Liverpool FC | 16 | 17 | 33 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 15 | 8 | 30 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 16 | 9 | 29 |
| 4 | Everton FC | 15 | 7 | 29 |
| 5 | Aston Villa FC | 14 | 14 | 26 |
| 6 | Chelsea FC | 16 | 13 | 26 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 15 | 11 | 26 |
| 8 | Manchester City FC | 14 | 9 | 26 |
| 9 | Southampton FC | 16 | 6 | 26 |
| 10 | West Ham United FC | 16 | 2 | 23 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 16 | 0 | 23 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 16 | -6 | 21 |
| 13 | Arsenal FC | 16 | -3 | 20 |
| 14 | Newcastle United FC | 15 | -7 | 19 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace FC | 16 | -9 | 19 |
| 16 | Burnley FC | 15 | -11 | 16 |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 16 | -7 | 13 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 15 | -10 | 11 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 16 | -24 | 8 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 16 | -19 | 2 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 11 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 11 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 10 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 8 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 6 |
| Abraham, Tammy | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 5 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 5 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 5 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 5 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dunk, Lewis | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 4 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 4 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 4 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 4 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 5 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 4 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 4 |
| Reid, Bobby | Fulham FC | 0 | 4 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 4 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 3 |
| Berge, Sander | Sheffield United FC | 0 | 4 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 4 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 4 |
| Mendy, Nampalys | Leicester City FC | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 10 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 7 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 6 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 4 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 4 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Harrison, Jack | Leeds United | 4 |
| Chilwell, Benjamin | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 4 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 4 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 3 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 3 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 3 |
Source: 101greatgoals.com
