Sunday's Premier League matchup will have two of this year's title contenders together, and curiously enough, the two most recent champions in the English top flight. Jose Mourinho will travel to Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City, where he will meet once more with Manuel Pellegrini, one of his preferred targets when it comes to criticizing others.
Last week, Chelsea gave away two points against Swansea, while the Citizens started off with a 3-0 win over West Bromwich. Both of their meetings last year ended with a 1-1 draw, will this game finally be won by any of them?
Manchester City
The Citizens were able to defeat WBA with a brace by Yaya Toure and a well-placed header by captain Vincent Kompany on Monday night. While Pellegrini might choose to repeat his Starting XI, Touré's presence is not assured after sustaining a hard hit. Sergio Agüero could be the leading striker against Chelsea, after starting Monday's game on the bench.
The Sky Blues have won their last seven Premier League games at home, while scoring at least two goals per match and keeping six clean sheets. Only two players are ruled out for this game: Gael Clichy and Fabian Delph, although neither played their previous game, so Pellegrini might want to repeat at least ten of last Monday's starters.
Chelsea
The past week for the Blues has been involved in controversy, and mostly, thanks to their coach. Before the game against Swansea ended, Eden Hazard fell to the ground after a tackle, which forced the doctors to go in. Mourinho screamed at them and criticized his crew for leaving the team with only nine men when the match was coming to a close.
After the game, "The Special One" decided to ban the team's doctor, Eva Carneiro, and the team's physio, Jon Fearn, from any of the upcoming matches. A wave of criticism hit Mourinho, but the coach did not change his decision.
Chelsea will not have Thibaut Courtois available for the game, as the Belgian shot-stopper was sent off during the game against the Swans. Other than that, Mou will have his full squad available, so the team can collect its 19 undefeated game out of the last twenty away from Stamford Bridge.
Man City vs Chelsea team sheets
Man City lineup: Hart, Sagna, Kompany (C), Mangala, Kolarov, Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, Navas, Silva, Sterling, Aguero
Chelsea lineup: Begovic; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Willian, Fabregas, Hazard; Diego Costa
Man City bench: Caballero, Zabaleta, Clichy, Nasri, Demichelis, Bony, Iheanacho
Chelsea bench: Blackman, Zouma, Mikel, Loftus-Cheek, Cuadrado, Falcao, Remy
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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