“Manchester City eats you alive” - Cesc Fabregas fires warning to Chelsea and Pochettino ahead of Premier League clash

Former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas thinks the Blues will be in for a hard time if they decide to sit deep and play on the counter against Manchester City.

The west London side are set to take on City at the Etihad in a Premier League clash on Saturday, February 17. While previewing the game at the Planet Premier League podcast, Fabregas fired a warning to Mauricio Pochettino.

The former Blues midfielder said that the Londoners can't be too defensive in their approach (via Metro):

"This could be an option. I don’t think they are a team to do that. We will see what he comes up with, but definitely if you want to get something out of a game away at Manchester City you need to be brave at the same time."

Fabregas added:

"I don’t think with the players Chelsea have they can just decide to go deep and play counter-attack because if they do that, maybe they don’t even get the chance to do one. I feel that Manchester City eats you alive when you they are in the final third. They have very quick players, resting defence, they keep the ball."

Pochettino's side are 10th in the Premier League, earning 34 points from 24 matches and 20 points off the top of the table. City are second with 52 points from 23 matches, two behind Liverpool with a game in hand.

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Cesc Fabregas thinks Chelsea's midfielders would hate defending the whole match

Chelsea have the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, and Cole Palmer in their ranks. Fabregas thinks those players would hate to defend all game and would give up.

While previewing the upcoming Premier League showdown at the Etihad, Fabregas said (via Metro):

"When you have players like Caicedo, like Enzo, like Cole Palmer, they don’t like to be defending the whole game. I think they would hate it, they would get frustrated and in the end they would just be giving up."

Fabregas continued that those players need to be themselves. He also added that taking a chance by going at City could serve the team better. The Spaniard said:

"They just need to be themselves. Okay, they are not maybe at the level to compete face to face against Manchester City at the moment, but they need to start somewhere. I think this is a good chance, especially with the last couple of results they’ve had, to prove their momentum and just have a go at them."

Chelsea enter the game having won three of their last five league matches, losing the other two. City, meanwhile, boast a perfect winning record in their last five league games.