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LONDON (Reuters) – Manchester City kicked off the New Year in Chelsea on Sunday, eager to overcome a recent COVID-19 outbreak and put pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool again.
The game, called into question when COVID-19 forced the City to close facilities and postpone Monday’s game at Everton, is scheduled to move forward after the visitors returned to training on Wednesday.
Rising infections in London and the postponement of Tottenham Hotspur’s game in Fulham on Wednesday, Chelsea’s neighbors in West London, raised questions, but the Premier League is confident the matches can go ahead.
“Safety remains our number one priority and the club will continue to exercise great caution,” City said in a statement.
“The bubble will undergo further testing in the coming days, the results of which will inform and dictate the next steps.”
On the field, eighth-ranked City will be looking for a third consecutive league win, while Chelsea need to reverse a streak of poor form that includes three losses and a draw in their last five games.
“At the moment they are a club in crisis because they are underperforming,” former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton told BBC radio after the West Londoners drew 1-1 with Aston Villa and fell to sixth place.
“They are flat and that is why (coach) Frank (Lampard) needs to get some wins under his belt and extremely fast because he can, as we know, get ugly at Chelsea.”
Champions Liverpool, with 33 points from 16 games, drew 0-0 with Newcastle United on Wednesday and will travel to Southampton on Monday.
The point difference between City and Liverpool is seven points, but City have two games in hand.
Second-ranked Manchester United with a nine-game unbeaten streak host fifth-ranked Aston Villa on Friday night. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men are three points behind Liverpool.
Leeds United, fresh off a 5-0 win at West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, will travel to Tottenham Hotspur for Saturday’s lunch break, while Leicester City take on Newcastle United on Sunday.
Everton host West Ham United on Friday and Arsenal play West Brom on Saturday.
Sheffield United, with two points from 16 Premier League games, will travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday, which has a five-match winless streak.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, edited by Ed Osmond)
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