Chelsea next five fixtures compared to Man United, Newcastle and Brighton after Man City draw

Chelsea warmed up for the Carabao Cup final with an impressive away showing against Manchester City. The Blues had their fair share of chances in an entertaining battle at the Etihad Stadium but were pegged back late on by Rodri before ultimately clinging onto a point.

The result ultimately leaves Chelsea where they started, stranded in mid-table, but with plenty to look forward to ahead of a trip to Wembley next week. However, after taking the lead against Pep Guardiola's side through a wonderfully clinical Raheem Sterling counter-attack goal, there will be frustration that Chelsea were unable to get more from the game.

Outside of Sterling's finish — the second of three huge chances he had on the day — Chelsea still had plenty of other moments to punish their hosts. Poor finishing from the Blues and a lack of final third penetration aside,there were a lot of positives for Mauricio Pochettino to draw from moving forward.

Chelsea are only two points behind Newcastle in seventh and are six from Manchester United. Anything above that at this stage is realistically out of site. However, to even make progress up the table there will need to be an element of consistency added to Chelsea's game that has not been evident at any point this season.

Here, football.london looks at what is to come for the Blues.

Three weeks ago Chelsea were hammered by Liverpool 4-1 at Anfield before being battered by Wolves three days later. Pochettino was in the stocks and the villagers were throwing all sorts at him. Now, there is a sense of fight, spirit, and cautious optimism going to Wembley.

What Pep Guardiola did after Raheem Sterling Chelsea goal vs Man City as Axel Disasi responds

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