Now that everyone’s friends again (well, sort of) it feels safe to assume Romelu Lukaku will spearhead the Chelsea attack when Manchester City host Thomas Tuchel’s side on Saturday.
Lukaku’s candid interview with Sky in Italy landed him in hot water with Tuchel, who ditched the £97.5million Belgium striker from his squad for the pulsating 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
The air was duly cleared and Saturday’s 5-1 FA Cup win over Chesterfield saw Lukaku make it four goals in his past six Chelsea outings across all competitions.
Although not the resounding success story many anticipated on his return to England, Lukaku’s five Premier League goals from only eight shots on target this term show he remains one of the most lethal frontmen around.
So, should City be worried about Chelsea having their attacking spearhead back on-side?
Well, perhaps not. And not just because Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte relish the sort of duels extending both brains and brawn that Lukaku tends to provide.
"The head coach has decided to play a different system and I mustn’t let up, I need to keep working hard and be professional,” he said, in one of the interview lines that caused such consternation.
Given Tuchel has generally played variations on a 3-4-3 since taking over at Stamford Bridge a year ago, it’s tricky to put your finger on exactly what sort of tactical switch the striker might have had in mind. However, Chelsea’s past two meetings with City offer strong hint.
Let’s get the Champions League final out of the way first. Yes, Pep Guardiola’s selection of an unfamiliar midfield configuration hamstrung his team, but this was compounded by a fluid Chelsea front three of Mason Mount, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz pulling City’s defence all over the place.
Mount’s through ball and Werner’s decoy run were key elements in Havertz’s winning goal and Chelsea had almost made similar moves stick earlier in the first half.
An enjoyable measure of revenge arrived in September when Guardiola’s men - complete with an imperious Rodri playing as an actual holding midfielder - suffocated their hosts and were deserved 1-0 winners.
As they did in Porto, City’s full-backs pressed aggressively high but did so more effectively and Chelsea were unable to get out, their forwards becoming isolated.
Mount’s injury absence compounded this, with a midfield three of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic driven deeper and deeper by City’s relentless possession.
Lukaku’s pairing with Werner marked a change from Chelsea’s usual shape under Tuchel but the front two were cut adrift for most of the contest. Only when Havertz replaced Kante after an hour and they reverted to something similar to their Champions League final shape did they offer any threat.
So it comes back to the question of exactly what sort of system Lukaku was expecting at Chelsea.
He thrived in a front two alongside Lautaro Martinez at Inter but the rigid setup that played entirely into City’s hands earlier this season would surely be welcomed by Dias, Laporte and their team-mates.
Mount’s presence and the lack of an expectant home crowd could mean Chelsea are able to revert to something closer to their Porto approach, although it is debatable whether Lukaku would help or hinder this gameplan.
Either way, Chelsea’s record signing means it is Tuchel with the codes to crack and puzzles to solve ahead of his latest meeting with Guardiola. It underlines a turning of the tables since the end of last season that goes some way to explaining City’s dominant position at the top of the table.
