The Premier League continues to serve up a feast of footballing action, and Matchweek 11 is no exception.
This weekend promises a thrilling clash between two London giants as Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. Both teams are in the top five, making this a highly anticipated encounter.
Elsewhere, Manchester City will aim to rebound from their shock defeat to Bournemouth when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion. Liverpool, on the other hand, will face a determined Aston Villa side.
Manchester United will look to maintain their momentum against Leicester City, while Tottenham Hotspur will be eager to build on their recent victory as they take on newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
In anticipation of the London derby, Showmax sat down with Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia to discuss the game and his career. Additionally, our ambassador, Robert Marawa, shares his insights on this mouthwatering clash.
Romeo Lavia interview:
You moved to England at the age of 16 and joined Manchester City’s academy. How challenging was it for you to come to England at such a young age?
The biggest challenge without a doubt was moving during COVID because in the first year I couldn’t come back to see my family, and they couldn’t come over, so as a young boy of 16 years old, who couldn’t speak any English, it wasn’t easy. That was the biggest challenge.
You then made a name for yourself at Southampton two seasons ago. What were some of the biggest lessons you learnt that you took to Chelsea?
It’s a very different situation that you’re in, so I will probably say I learnt how to deal with different results and how we can affect the next one. If we won, great, if we lost, figuring out ways on how to improve so we can do better the next game. That is what I had taken with to Chelsea.
You had a very difficult year last season with all the injuries that ruled you out for the entire season. How challenging was it to go through that at just 19 years of age ?
It was very challenging, because you’ve just joined a new club and you’re really excited at what you can do at such a beautiful club and then this happens. It’s hard at first, but you have to look at ways on how you can turn it into something positive, and I tried to have that in my head. Sometimes it was really hard, but I pushed myself to do my best in rehab so that I could come back and be as ready as possible.
What are some of the personal goals you want to achieve this year at Chelsea?
I think to definitely score my first Chelsea goal, preferably at Stamford Bridge, that’s one of my biggest goals. Apart from that, it’s more a collective goal. We’ve struggled a lot and with the quality that we have in the squad – it would mean more to achieve collectively then just achieve personal trophies.
You are described as an excellent passer and an intelligent player. But how would you describe your playing style?
It’s really hard to explain in words, but I am the one that keeps it ticking, if you know what I mean. To make everything go through me, and to help my players get into better positions. Defensively, to try not to concede and make the players’ jobs easier.
Were you always a defensive midfielder? Or were there are positions that you explored?
I started as a striker, which is surprising for most. I then quickly moved to centre back. Then, when I was about 14, I moved into midfield and from there, I didn’t move. Most of my coaches I trained under said I was best in midfield and they were right.
You face Arsenal this weekend. What do you anticipate as the biggest challenge against the Gunners?
It’s going to be challenging everywhere on the pitch. And they are a strong team. It is also a derby, and so they are going to go for it. We got to be ready and we will be ready. Whatever the challenge is, we are going to prepare as much as we can to face it.
What are Romeo Lavia’s interests outside of football? What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I’m a massive gamer so outside of football I spend a lot of time on my console and apart from that, I am really simple. I stay on the phone with friends and family, we play games on the phone, games like UNO and Ludo, and we have a good time.
Pick of the week: Chelsea v Arsenal
Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Date: Sunday, 10 November 2024
Time: 18:30
Live on Showmax Premier League
‘’My match pick for this weekend has to be Chelsea v Arsenal. It’s been an intriguing situation seeing both of these teams stepping into Matchweek 11, sitting in position four and five. The travelling team being Arsenal lost their last game to Newcastle over the weekend, after an early 12th-minute strike by Swedish striker Alexander Isak, while Chelsea head into the game following a tense draw with Manchester United over the weekend. Chelsea’s blushes were saved thanks to a stunning Moises Caicedo strike to level the game and earn them a point at Old Trafford.
So referee Michael Oliver, touted to be the best referee in England, will be making his first Arsenal assignment since coming back to the field after his controversial sending off of Leandro Trossard when Arsenal faced City in September this year. There was a lot that was said about that sending off. He makes his return to an Arsenal game, so what sort of impact will he make, especially from a psychological point of view for Arsenal?
Will it be a game of different formations? I have noticed that Chelsea have been using a typical 4-2-3-1 formation, while Arsenal have been using a 4-4-2 formation. It’s been a great season for Nicolas Jackson. He’s sixth top goal scorer in the Premier League at the moment. He’s scored six goals and I’m sure he’s going to be eager to score more. He’s got three assist as well. With fellow striker Cole Palmer, he’s the top goals scorer at the club. Palmer has seven goals and five assist, while Noni Madueke has had a fantastic season contributing four goals as well to the club. Any of those combinations and partnerships could yield goals because all three of these players could either dominate goal scoring or be the providers of the goals with their assists.
Now, it would be wrong to ignore Kai Havertz on any given day. He will be leading the Arsenal attack and if you look at the records, he has scored four goals so far this season. He’s an ever present threat for Arsenal. And we cannot forget Bukayo Saka. Go back to the game against Liverpool, with the fantastic trap of the ball, he brought it down, did a little shimmy on the one side, gave a bit of a nutmeg, changed his foot or kicking leg on to the left-hand side, and curled a beautiful ball into the corner to open the scoring when Arsenal took on Liverpool.
So for me, the major decider of the game is whether the respective managers choose to start all the major players as per normal. But I’m also quite wary of how the two coaches have been utilising their benches quite effectively, almost like the way the Springboks utilise their bomb squad. So will the game be determined by who has the stronger bench? We will have to wait and see. All I’m saying is that you’re invited to switch on to Showmax Premier League and watch this fascinating encounter at Stamford Bridge this weekend. It’s an outstanding game to look forward to.’’
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