Two of the leading contenders for the 2014-15 Premier League title meet Sunday when Manchester City hosts Chelsea.
The teams face off for the first time this season, and the soccer world will watch attentively with hopes of finding clues as to which of the favorites will prevail when the title race concludes in May. Viewers also might see something strange: Frank Lampard — Chelsea’s all-time leading goal scorer — playing for Manchester City against his former team.
Premier League leader Chelsea is off to a hot start (12 points points after four games), while fifth-place Manchester City trails by five points. The result won’t make or break either team’s season, but Chelsea can put Manchester City into a deep hole with a win at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City-Chelsea will take place just four days after the teams opened their 2014-15 UEFA Champions League campaigns. Manchester City lost to Bayern Munich, and Chelsea was held to a home draw against Schalke. The Premier League clubs want to rebound after Wednesday’s disappointments, and what better time to do it than in one of the biggest domestic games of the season?
NESN.com soccer editor Marcus Kwesi O’Mard and Ben Lyttleton, columnist and author of “12 Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty,” discuss the start of Manchester City and Chelsea’s seasons and preview Sunday’s game.
O’Mard and Lyttleton then switch focus to penalty kicks and look at Liverpool’s unique situation when it comes to spot kicks. The Reds have two penalty-kick masters in their squad — Steven Gerrard and Mario Balotelli — but only one can step up to the spot at a time.
Listen to it all in our latest soccer podcast.
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See our live blog of Bayern Munich-Manchester City >>
Photo via Twitter/@TeleFootball
