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Frank Lampard says he hopes Chelsea’s match with Manchester City will go ahead, while two members of the club’s staff tested positive for Covid-19 this week.
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that City will not have five players for Sunday’s Premier League trip to Stamford Bridge because all are self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus. Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker were confirmed on Christmas Day as two players who tested positive.
City reopened their training ground on Wednesday after a temporary closure due to a “series of positive cases” that led to the postponement of their match with Everton on Monday.
Lampard said: “I am aware of the (Manchester City) situation. Right now the game is on. Manchester City have had problems on their training ground, we have had a couple ourselves but not the playing staff. “.
Chelsea’s head coach revealed that the two positive cases from staff members came from this week’s testing round.
When asked if he was in favor of a two-week outage, Lampard said safety should come before football.
“We are in a protected environment,” added Lampard. “We are being evaluated twice a week. I don’t know why we go down to one. Two is important.
“It seems that the situation is that we go game by game. The canceled games are due to positive tests in that game. We will see how it goes.
“I get it (keep playing) but safety has to be paramount. The fact that I said we have a couple of employees [who tested] positive … they have babies, parents, friends, sisters, brothers and grandparents.
“They come here, they go to work and then they go home. We are in another wave of Covid that seems to be more contagious, or is. Safety is paramount, rather than keeping the morale of the nation. That could be nothing. Nice to say, we enjoy watching our football, but safety and health have to come first.
“We had it (a break) earlier in March. The Premier League and the clubs have done everything they can to make the environment as safe as possible. As we have discovered, it is not always easy to do.
“When you go home and the numbers go up, particularly in London where we are … it’s up to the authorities, the government and the Premier League. I don’t know, but if they tell you to stop, stop.”
Ziyech aptitude test, James out
Chelsea striker Hakim Ziyech returned to full training this week after sustaining a hamstring injury in a 3-1 win against Leeds on December 5, but may not be ready to return to Man City. on Sunday.
Lampard confirmed that the Moroccan international is approaching full form, but Sunday’s game may come too soon, while right-back Reece James remains out after missing a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Monday.
He said, “He (Hakim Ziyech) is fit to train. He has trained for the last two or three days. I need to make that decision on whether he is fit to play. Reece James is out, he has a little hamstring strain. “.
Chelsea rise to the point level of play with Guardiola’s side, despite winning just one of their last five Premier League matches.
“It is a game that we want to win against very good opponents,” added Lampard. “They’ll be there or they’ll be there. Being there with him despite our recent streak of form in the last few games is an advantage and it’s an opportunity to win a game against a competitor.
“We need to do our best to win. In terms of their weaknesses? I don’t see it. They are a very strong team; very well managed, they have threats in the attacking areas. We have to focus on ourselves. If we are in our best moment, we can make weaknesses against any team. “
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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