Manchester City and Chelsea Growing Too Dependent on Key Characters

Sunday's meeting between Manchester City and Chelsea features the front-runners for this season's Premier League title going head-to-head with arguably the finest squads in the land.

Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa have taken little time to establish themselves as leading scorers for their respective sides, but both clubs have endured struggles of late when those jewels haven't been present.

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And the over-reliance that we discuss here runs deeper than mere goals can tell, too. After being named in the 2013-14 Premier League Team of the Year and with the infamous birthday cake row falling in between, Yaya Toure's standards haven't been as stellar this term, and it shows in City's success.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have acquired an asset of Toure-esque levels in the shape of Cesc Fabregas, whose impact has been instant upon returning to London.

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Those two central anchors will be vital in seeing how Sunday's battle plays out, Fabregas coming into the fixture with an average of 1.5 assists per game, while Toure is yet to register one, per Betting Expert.

Jose Mourinho has spoken of his delight with the playmaker and how he's re-adapted to the Premier League, per The Guardian's Paul Doyle:

"

I thought he was going to stay at Barcelona. I was looking at him as the natural successor of this generation of Barcelona players who were getting older, like Xavi. The surprise for me was not that he didn’t go to Arsenal but that he was actually leaving Barcelona.

One of the reasons he’s so important for us is exactly because he can play in any position. Even in Barcelona he was playing so many times as a nine – their style of nine. He sometimes was playing on the left wing too. He can play in many positions. It depends what you want. What is your plan? Where do you think he can be or have more influence on the game?

"

But perhaps the luxury of having those players creates a complacency in others, a notice of comfort among squad members that reads: "It's OK, he'll get the job done."

Of course it's to be expected to an extent; these players establish themselves as "key characters" for a reason, after all.

What isn't healthy, though, is failing to reach the same standards when those players can't reach their optimum, which even in the Premier League is all too common an occurrence for most.

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Wednesday evening saw Chelsea fail to win for the first time this season, upon drawing 1-1 with Schalke in their Champions League group-stage opener.

How coincidental is it that the lacklustre performance came with Didier Drogba starting in Costa's place in order to give the Spanish international a rest?

The Mail Online agreed that even Chelsea's more reliable players shrunk compared to their German visitors in some regards:

In that fixture, Fabregas, Eden Hazard and to some extent Nemanja Matic still impressed, but a machine is a sum of its parts, and those needing to make the step up weren't capable of doing so against an opponent they really should have beaten.

Similarly, Manuel Pellegrini's men have shown their weaknesses in attack when without certain figures. Sergio Aguero hasn't been at full fitness for the majority of the campaign, and it became painfully clear in the 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich last week what a miss his explosive skill set was in attack for City.

In fairness, the Argentine international did start against Stoke City and Arsenal, lost and drawn, respectively, and scoring against the latter, but that aforementioned lack of a clean bill of health has caused issues.

Edin Dzeko has been a reliable option capable of coming in and filling the void to an extent, as has Stevan Jovetic at times this season, but they simply don't give the same security going forward.

During the 2014 World Cup, ESPN's Julian de Martinis noted Argentina had a similar problem (although Lionel Messi was still around to save their cause for the most part):

"

That Argentina attack looking weak without Aguero or Di Maria.

— Julian of Martinis (@JulianDM11) July 9, 2014"

It goes without saying that most of the world's elite teams each have that one scoring talisman—more if they're lucky—who sticks out more than the others.

The idea that Real Madrid shouldn't be able to rely upon Cristiano Ronaldo's majesty or Barcelona look to Messi in times of need is a shallow view; those clubs are reaping the benefits of their investments, fair and square.

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An orchestra could be full to the brim with some of the world's finest musicians, but without a conductor, their efforts become misled and lacking in cohesion.

In a way, all things can be related back to when we played football as children, regardless of the esteem around top-flight sport. Some local sides boasted a player who may have represented at county level, murmurs that he'd signed for this club or that academy.

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And yet, if one was fortunate enough to face that side when said renowned prodigy had to attend his cousin's christening or any other excuse, the opponent all of a sudden looked all too beatable.

Pellegrini and Mourinho will each strive to ensure this doesn't remain a stigma of theirs for too long, as a strong squad, not strong individuals, is largely regarded as the secret to any title.

Having your superstar assets is no problem in itself, but growing accustomed to seeing those stars soar can lead to unforeseen obstacles as well.