Mauricio Pochettino has pledged his Chelsea team will attack Manchester City when they visit the Premier League leaders’ Etihad Stadium this Saturday.
Chelsea and City tied 4-4 at Stamford Bridge in November, with former City player Cole Palmer converting a penalty in stoppage time to give the hosts a point.
Chelsea’s fortunes have been uneven since, losing half of their 12 league games, but a victory over Pep Guardiola’s side may propel them to a season-high seventh position, depending on other results.
With 14 games to go, Chelsea has already scored three more league goals than they did in the previous season, when just four teams scored less.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino stressed that his squad would not sit back and wait for City, who had only lost once at home in the English Premier League in over two years, to come on.
“If we go there and wait to see what’s going on, they are a team that can dominate you and make you suffer,” the Argentine remarked on Friday. “The most essential thing we learned was that we needed to attack, run, and put in all of our effort.
“The most important thing is to go there and be brave, to challenge them.”
Saturday’s encounter will be Palmer’s first return to the Etihad since his £40 million ($50 million) move to west London in September.
Prior to his move, the 21-year-old scored for City in this season’s Community Shield, which Arsenal lost on penalties, as well as the UEFA Super Cup victory over Sevilla.
He is the leading scorer for his new club, with 12 goals in all competitions, and is widely regarded as the standout success of co-owner Todd Boehly’s £1 billion transfer spree.
Palmer had previously stated that he joined Chelsea because he believed he would not receive enough playing time at City.
“He’s not the type of player that needs to prove anything,” Pochettino stated. I believe he is grateful for his time at Manchester City; nonetheless, he left the club in search of a new challenge and the opportunity to play more.
“Manchester City has an amazing squad. Clubs make judgments that they believe are beneficial for the team. It does not imply that someone is not a skilled player.
“Sometimes the circumstances do not match. Players want to quit, and you can’t stop them since you don’t have enough gaming time.”
Guardiola, speaking at his own pre-match press conference on Friday, said it was no surprise that Palmer performed so well.
“The stats and the way he is playing, he is already an exceptional player,” the coach remarked.”He got the minutes he wanted and it was just a question of time — he has shown his quality.”