Chelsea vs Man City: Tonight, the much awaited clash of two teams that have been in top form through the season awaits us. After last week’s Spurs massacre (one can only call it that), Manchester City are set to take on Chelsea in a match that holds much promise.
Venue: Etihad Stadium | Date: Monday, 3 February | Kick-off: 20.00 GMT
On TV: Sky Sports 1, NBCSN, Star Sports HD 2 | Online: Sky Go, NOW TV (UK), NBC Sports Live Extra (USA)
Last week, while Chelsea drew to West Ham (much to our disappointment), City decided they’d go all out on their formidable opponents. And they did just that, leaving Spurs manager Tim Sherwood red-faced at the 5-1 defeat his side suffered.
Anywhere, anytime, City are a force to be reckoned with. But at Etihad, the club is simply indestructible, and the Blues face a daunting task.
Some solace can be found in the fact that only Fernando Torres and Marco van Ginkel are unfit to play, and Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah provide the fresh play that Chelsea might just need. An effective defence, coupled with a brilliant and innovative midfield may just lead to a draw or a win.
Manchester City, on the other hand, boast of a sharp offence, capable of plowing through almost any defence. With last year’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea (courtesy Joe Hart), City will also be looking for revenge, and Dzeko, Negredo and Jovetic out to keep Cech on his feet (or off them).
We all look forward to an engaging battle, on the field and off (nobody expects Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini to keep cool heads here). Let’s hope the teams don’t let us down!
Opta stats
- Manchester City have won 19 and lost just one of their last 21 Barclays Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium, including winning the last 11 in a row.
- Chelsea have lost their last four Premier League visits to the Etihad, but no team has won more games away at Man City in Premier League history than the west Londoners (10).
- Chelsea had 39 shots against West Ham in midweek (including blocked shots); the most by any team who failed to score in the Premier League since 2003/04.
Chelsea vs Man City Predicted Lineups:
Chelsea – Petr Cech | Azpilicueta – John Terry – Branislav Ivanovic – Ashley Cole | Jon Obi Mikel – Lampard | Mohamed Salah – Oscar – Hazard | Demba Ba
Manchester City (Home) – Joe Hart | Pablo Zabaleta – Martin DeMichelis – Vincent Kompany – Gael Clichy | Fernandinho – Yaya Toure | David Silva – Jesus Navas | Alvaro Negredo – Stevan Jovetic
Prediction: Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea
I don’t expect Salah or Ba to start, would love to see Salah off the bench though if we pinch a goal in the first half. Need Eto’o to be on his game again like he was at UTD, if we get a few chances we need to take them big time!