Mike Summerbee believes that Antonio Conte could have
the edge in the title race given that there is no Champions League or
Europa League participation for his side
Manchester City legend Mike Summerbee concedes that Chelsea will have
a fitness edge in the race for the Premier League title ahead of the
sides' blockbuster meeting on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte will go head-to-head in a
hotly-anticipated clash of styles, with Chelsea having recently
displaced early front-runners City at the top of the league thanks to
seven straight victories in the Italian's favoured 3-4-3 system.
City boss Guardiola has chopped and changed formations this season as
he has got to grips with his players, as well as juggling their
domestic campaign and Champions League duties.
After their Premier League title defence imploded last term, Chelsea
are not faced with continental commitments in 2016-17, something Conte
has highlighted as an advantage as he has imposed a system on the Blues
that remains exotic in English football.
Though stopping short of pegging Saturday's early kick-off at the
Etihad Stadium as a title decider - City and Liverpool are just a point
behind table-toppers Chelsea - legendary City winger turned club
ambassador Summerbee believes the signs from Stamford Bridge are
ominous.
Summerbee told Omnisport: "I think we're talking a little bit
prematurely about title races, it's very early days. But Chelsea have
come out and they're doing very, very well under this new manager.
"But what we have to look at as well is that they're not in the
Champions League. From one week to another... when they come into the FA
Cup, fair enough, but the Champions League is very demanding and we're
in that.
"It does help a side like Chelsea, with a new manager, to not be in
the Champions League and look forward to one game a week to lift the
side.
"For us it's very different, playing game after game after game.
Being in the Champions League is fantastic. I'm not saying anything
against it but it is an advantage for a side not in the Champions League
challenging for a top-four place."
By contrast to Conte, Guardiola comes into the Saturday's
meeting having had a full week to prepare for a game for the first time
since the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
And Summerbee believes that the Catalan will thrive from such
exposure to his players, having followed the team on their pre-season
tour of China.
"The first thing that you see is that he's a gentleman, he's a nice man, he's hands on," Summerbee said.
"When they're training and they're practicing he's on the pitch with
them going through different situations with them and you can see the
players responding.
"Every day is a different day. They're training and they do things differently, which keeps the mind focused.
"He's very much a person I admire. I watched him as a manager when he
was at Bayern Munich and at Barcelona. You can't do anything else but
admire a man who can make teams play that way and entertain that way.
"The change he's brought to Manchester City has been really
automatic. It's not as if it's taken over a period of time; he's done it
in a short period of time.
"There's a long way to go, he probably wants to do more with the
squad of players and enlighten them more into how he wants to play but,
at the moment, he's playing a good system."
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