Mahrez could be Manchester City’s ace in the hole in must-win Chelsea game

As the seconds passed in stoppage time, with Manchester City starting to come to terms with their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool, Riyad Mahrez, an unused substitute at Anfield sat helpless in the away dugout.

City’s one-time record signing hadn’t been called upon by Pep Guardiola, even though the Citizens boss had only made one alteration – Gabriel Jesus replacing Sergio Aguero in the 71st minute – with his side needing to, at least, peg back their opponents in order to avoid a nine-point deficit at the end of gameweek 12.

For a bit of context, it was only the second time this season the Spaniard hasn’t made all three substitutions in the Premier League. The other time was in the champions’ encounter with Crystal Palace in mid-October, a game they won 2-0. With his team chasing a game, it was unusual to see Pep reluctant to adapt his personnel on the pitch.

In all fairness, their performance at Anfield didn’t warrant a 3-1 reverse. On the balance of play, the champions perhaps edged Jurgen Klopp’s side, but were let down by their lack of synergy in attack and mistakes in defence.

There was also the perceived injustice that Guardiola was vocal about during and after the game. The away side felt Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold handled in the box moments before Fabinho’s stunning opening goal in the sixth minute. Most big games are usually decided by the finest of margins, and the encounter will likely have gone differently if City went ahead in front of the Kop.

Instead, they now trail Klopp’s unrelenting troops by nine points going into the busy festive period. It’ll take an analogous run like last season to even give Pep’s City a chance of claiming their third title on the spin, while they’ll also need the Reds to stutter several times as the season progresses.

They face in-form Chelsea seeking to get back to winning ways after what would have been a longer-than-usual  two-week hiatus for Guardiola, who absolutely hates losing and will have been desperate to have made amends at the earliest possible opportunity.

A response will be demanded by their tenacious manager, who will be without suspended Bernardo Silva. In his absence, Mahrez, influential Portuguese playmaker’s direct replacement, appears in line to step into the first XI.

If their tactical blueprint at Anfield is anything to go by, the Algerian attacker will have a big say in how City approach Saturday’s game against a side unblemished in two months of league football.

Against Liverpool, Pep’s side targeted Alexander-Arnold’s flank, having pinpointed the right-back as the defensively weaker of the Reds full-backs. Angelino had 101 touches of the ball to Kyle Walker’s 65, while Raheem Sterling found himself in more threatening positions in the final third than Bernardo Silva, who markedly got the away side’s consolation after good work from Sterling and the Spanish left-back.

However, against Frank Lampard’s troops, that tactic may be transposed. The right side of the Blues’ defence is their stronger side, with Cesar Azpilicueta and Kurt Zouma expected to play at right-back and centre-back, respectively. Contrastingly, the other pair of Fikayo Tomori, and Emerson or Marcos Alonso, may be targeted by Pep.

Tomori has come on in leaps and bounds this season, picking up where he left off under Lampard’s watch at Derby County last term. However, he frequently finds himself having to fulfil his defensive duties as well as cover for whoever plays at left-back, be it Emerson or Alonso.

Given Chelsea appear frailer on that end of their defence; Guardiola will likely want an overload on that side, making Mahrez and Walker play prominent roles. With Emerson the likelier to start at the Etihad, the Algeria wideman will seek to occupy, and take advantage of, the space abandoned by the Italy international when he goes forward.

Emerson doesn’t recover as quickly as Azpilicueta either, so Mahrez may find himself in the positions Sterling occupied against Liverpool a fortnight ago, or at the very least taking up higher positions than Bernardo Silva occupied at Anfield.

The Africa Cup of Nations champion hasn’t started in the league since the Citizens’ stunning 2-0 home defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers in early October. However, he could reassert himself in Guardiola’s plans with a strong showing on Saturday.

Gameweek 13 begins a run of challenging fixtures for City leading into the frenzied Christmas schedule. They face rivals Manchester United, Arsenal and thriving Leicester City before Santa rolls into town, and they can’t allow any more slip-ups in the league.

The champions could find themselves 12 points behind Liverpool, who are away at Crystal Palace, before a ball is kicked against Lampard’s men, which amplifies the significance of the contest.

A draw won’t be enough, while a defeat will be disastrous for their title chances.

Only a victory against Chelsea will suffice for Pep’s City…and Mahrez can play a vital role in making that happen.