Preview: Chelsea – Man City

Chelsea take on a high flying Manchester City in what is sure to be a spirited encounter at Stamford Bridge. Will Abramovich’s Blue Army reign supreme or will City continue their splendid run in the Premier League? We have a look at some factors that may provide an answer.

LINEUPS


Chelsea come into the game without the services of long term absentee Michael Essien. They are also missing David Luiz, who is suspended after accumulating five yellow cards, his last coming against Newcastle. Josh McEachran (ankle) and Henrique Hilario (illness) are both expected to miss the game as well.


Chelsea Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Romeu, Lampard, Sturridge, Drogba, Mata.


Manchester City lost Micah Richards to a calf injury in their Champions League clash against Bayern Munich, and will most probably see Pablo Zabaleta take to the field in his place. Aleksandar Kolarov will also sit the game out due to a groin injury.


Manchester City Probably Lineup (4-3-1-2): Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Toure, Barry, Milner, Silva, Balotelli, Aguero.


FORM


On form, Manchester City look favourites to take this game. They have won three of their last five games and have been rampant in doing so. Currently sitting on a two point lead at the top of the Premier League standings, City are yet to lose a game this season and are averaging a ridiculous 3.4 goals a game.


Chelsea, on the other hand, are in the process of regrouping after a few disastrous performances at Stamford Bridge. Their current record is three wins and two losses in the last five games. Having secured qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League, they will look to propel themselves forward at the expense of the high flying Citizens.


PLAYERS TO WATCH


Chelsea will look to two players for inspiration tonight, namely Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge. Both have been in great form recently and will often be the focal points of the Chelsea attack. Drogba’s form against Valencia will be an added positive to take into a difficult game.


City, on the other hand, will look to Silva and Aguero for inspiration, with the former leading the assists chart with eight assists this season, and the latter having scored eleven goals in only thirteen games.


PREDICTION


Manchester City will have to put out a strong performance to get past a resilient Chelsea, who look to be coming back to form with a few wins of late. Although Chelsea have had a few bad games at home this season, Stamford Bridge has never been a good hunting ground for the Citizens, with City having scored in only one of their last nine appearances here.


Although we expect the game to be full of goals, we believe that the teams will eventually cancel each other out and settle for a point.


Final Score: Chelsea 2-2 Manchester City