Premier League

Man City combined XI: Foden, Stones make the cut as £75m Blues flop misses out

Chelsea - Man City combined XI

The standout fixture this week is Chelsea’s match against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Thursday. Raheem Sterling faces his former employers as Graham Potter tries to pick up a positive result against one of the best clubs in world football. It is not looking good for the Blues and City will be highly motivated to reduce Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League.

Nobody agreed with my combined Arsenal – West Ham XI, not a single soul. So why not ruffle some more feathers? Here is the best possible team consisting of City and Chelsea players. The likes of Reece James will not be included as he is ruled out of the match through injury.

 

GK: Ederson (Manchester City)
Chelsea have two goalkeepers that are good but also simultaneously very dodgy. Edouard Mendy could have made this team ahead of Ederson a couple of seasons ago but he has been rubbish since he won the African Cup of Nations with Senegal last year, and Kepa Arrizabalaga is certainly not better than the City No. 1.

Ederson is the best ball-playing goalkeeper in the world and has been extremely reliable since moving to England from Benfica for £35million in 2017. Only 29, which is young for a ‘keeper, the Brazil international has plenty of years ahead of him and due to his overall ability, it is hard to envision Pep Guardiola looking to replace him any time soon.

RB: Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
With Reece James ruled out after yet another injury setback, I had a very straightforward decision to make here.

The drop-off in quality whenever James is unavailable is alarming and Graham Potter should probably bring in a new right-back this month. Denzel Dumfries has been linked and Pedro Porro has a £40m release clause. Will we see one of these two playing at Stamford Bridge?

Walker is one of, if not the, best right-back in Premier League history and is still going strong for club and country. His return from injury just in time for the World Cup was a huge boost for England.

 

CB: Thiago Silva (Chelsea)
The first Chelsea player to make the team, Silva is still going strong at the age of 38. He is enjoying another stellar campaign at Stamford Bridge, even with his side struggling domestically.

Chelsea are a worse team without Silva, who perfectly suits Thomas Tuchel and Potter’s five-at-the-back system and it would not be much of a surprise to see the club extend his contract beyond the summer of 2023. Having said that, Todd Boehly absolutely loves spending money and the…

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