Chelsea travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon to face treble-chasing Manchester City in the Premier League.
If City are to beat the Blues, then the hosts will be crowned league champions for a third consecutive season. City are arguably the best team in world football right now – and that was emphasised by their 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid in the Champions League earlier in the week.
So for Frank Lampard and Chelsea, there is an incredibly difficult challenge ahead of them as they approach the conclusion of this disastrous campaign. Where City are right now is where Todd Boehly and the rest of the ownership group will be hoping the club can be in the coming years when Mauricio Pochettino takes charge at the end of the season.
READ MORE: Every word Frank Lampard said on Man City vs Chelsea, Erling Haaland and Badiashile injury
Chelsea will have had eight days to prepare for the trip to Manchester following last weekend's 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge. There have been some images released by the club of some moments from their training session that took place at Cobham on Friday, here are some of the best bits...
Chukwuemeka trains
Carney Chukwuemeka was supposed to be representing England Under-20s in their upcoming World Cup campaign but the midfielder was withdrawn from the squad because Chelsea have plans to use him in the remaining games of the season. Mateo Kovacic limped off in the draw to Forest last weekend, so there looks to be more of a chance that we see the 19-year-old on Sunday afternoon.
Chukwuemeka has only made one start in the Premier League this season. If he can impress in between now and the end of the campaign, then it could change the club's stance on him with Chelsea considering a loan for him next term. Lewis Hall, who started against Forest last time out, was also involved on Friday.
Koulibaly steps up recovery
Kalidou Koulibaly has been missing with injury since the second-leg defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League last month. The Senegal international has been present in training, though, as he was on Friday.
While Koulibaly is stepping up and closing in on his return, he will not be ready for the game at the weekend, Lampard confirmed in Friday's pre-match press conference. The interim head coach's comments suggest the defender will be in line to return for Thursday evening's trip to Manchester United.
Lampard hands out instructions
Lampard will go head-to-head with one of the best tacticians around on Sunday in Pep Guardiola. The Man City boss has shown during his time in the Premier League how he can create a brand of football and get it to be unstoppable. City are so dominant and Lampard will need to have a fault-proof plan in his head to get anywhere near them at the weekend.
"I don't know about the greatest, that's a hard debate but they are clearly a fantastic team and they have been for a long while now so huge credit to them for that consistency," Lampard said on Friday about Man City. "For doing it year in year out on those levels they are coming very close to becoming the greatest team and obviously the cherry on the top would be to keep winning and win the Champions League. On the form they are in you wouldn't want to bet against them on anything."
Chalobah looks to continue superb form
Trevoh Chalobah has arguably been Chelsea's standout performer in the last two matches against Bournemouth and Forest. In those games, the centre-back has been used as a right-back and has flourished in doing so – particularly in his attacking play.
But with Benoit Badiashile injured now, Chalobah could be moved back into the centre of defence. Although Thiago Silva and Wesley Fofana look to be the likely pairing at the heart of defence with Chalobah set to continue on the right-hand side of a back-four.
Goalkeeper decision
Edouard Mendy made his long-awaited return to the Chelsea lineup in last weekend's draw with Forest. However, in the first-half, the reason Mendy was dropped from the side in the first place resurfaced, with the goalkeeper rushing to punch the ball away and instead leaving an open goal for Taiwo Awoniyi to head in.
Kepa Arrizabalaga will be pushing to get back into the side this weekend at the Etihad, a place where Chelsea will definitely need their goalkeeper to be on top form if they are to get any sort of result. It remains to be seen what Lampard does in that regard, but both were involved at Cobham on Friday.
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