Chelsea travel to the Etihad for the second time in a fortnight this Saturday – this time to face City in the FA Cup fifth round.
Date: Saturday, 15 Feb Venue: Etihad Stadium Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Chelsea will look to follow up their stunning 1-0 victory at the Etihad two weeks ago with another win that would see them progress to the next round of the FA Cup.
The competition was owed a mouthwatering tie such as this one, with only one all-Premier League tie in the fourth round, Chelsea vs Stoke City. The remaining top four inhabitants, Arsenal and Liverpool, also meet at the Emirates Stadium in what promises to be another interesting clash.
The Blues will be looking to bounce back from their frustrating 1-1 draw against West Brom in midweek, which saw them miss the chance to go four points clear at the top of the Premier League. Manchester City will be looking to put right their slight dip in recent form that has seen them fail to score in their last two games.
The hosts will no doubt be the fresher team going into this clash following the postponement of their midweek home game against Sunderland due to weather conditions.
Chelsea are likely to be without their first choice centre-half partnership of Gary Cahill and John Terry; the former picking up a knock in the midweek draw and the captain’s return from injury yet to be announced.
This could see David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic line up together at the heart of the defense – a very untested formula.
Manchester City are still without Sergio Aguero who was missing when Chelsea prevailed two weeks ago, and perhaps just as importantly they are likely to be missing Fernandinho who also missed the recent clash between these two giants.
Most notably for City, however, will be the availability of powerful midfielder Yaya Toure after he escaped an FA ban after a kick on Norwich City’s Ricky van Wolfswinkel last weekend. Centre back Nastasic has joined the Manchester City injury table.
This team news is likely to mean Manchester City field a much stronger side than the Blues. Despite Jose Mourinho’s love affair with the domestic cup competitions in England, he knows the failure to win this game would not be a disaster with the Premier League title race heating up and getting tighter every week.
A loss would mean more attention could be put on the two competitions Chelsea would remain in – the Champions League and, of course, the tightest Premier League title race ever. In saying this, don’t expect Mourinho to go to Manchester and go down without a fight, if they go down at all.
Pre-match facts
- Chelsea have kept 5 clean sheets in their last 7 FA Cup matches.
- FA Cup wins: Chelsea- 7, Manchester City- 5.
- Jose Mourinho has lost just one of his nine head-to-head meetings against Manuel Pellegrini, winning seven.
Man City vs Chelsea: Predicted Line ups
Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolrov; De Michelis, Toure; Silva, Nasri; Negredo, Jovetic
Chelsea: Schwarzer, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cole; Matic, Lampard; Salah, Shurrle, Oscar; Torres
Prediction: Manchester City 2-1 Chelsea
