Preview: Title race mission at the Etihad
This match is of great importance for three sets of fans in particular. Supporters of the two teams involved – Man City and Chelsea – are not the only ones that will be on the edge of their seats all night. Gooners will also follow proceedings at the Etihad very closely, since Arsenal’s status as English Premier League leaders is under threat.
The Gunners returned to the summit thanks to their 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday but the Citizens will leapfrog them at the end of Matchday 24 should they defeat the Blues. As it stands, Manuel Pellegrini’s men are sandwiched between Arsenal and upcoming opponents Chelsea.
The latter face a tough challenge as they have won only five out of 11 away games whereas Man City have a 100 per cent home record. Defender Pablo Zabaleta is expecting Jose Mourinho to apply negative tactics.
“It is hard sometimes to play against sides that come to defend. But it’s something we have to be ready for because everyone knows how strong we’ve been at the Etihad,” he told the press.
“Some teams may come and defend for 90 minutes but it’s up to us to figure out a way through.”
However, with Eden Hazard, Chelsea might surprise the hosts and bravely go all out to attack.
“We know City are playing very well this season and they score a lot of goals, but we are not scared. We are going there to win,” Belgium star winger Hazard told the club's official website.
“Some teams play against City and they are scared because they have a lot of strikers who score a lot of goals in their home stadium, but we are in good form as well, and if we win we will stay near the top of the table. It will be a good game.”
POS. | TEAM | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | D | P | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PREMIER LEAGUE 2013/2014 | ||||||||||
1 | Arsenal | 24 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 47 | 21 | +26 | 55 | |
2 | Manchester City | 23 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 68 | 26 | +42 | 53 | |
3 | Chelsea | 23 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 43 | 20 | +23 | 50 | |
4 | Liverpool | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 58 | 29 | +29 | 47 |
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
Watch Manchester City vs Chelsea live on Monday, February 3, 2014:
In Canada at 15:00 ET:
Canada | TalkSport Radio, TSN2 |
In UK at 20:00 GMT:
United Kingdom | Sky Sports 1/HD, Sky Sports 3D, BBC Manchester, BBC One, BBC Radio 5 Live, NOW TV, Sky Go |
In USA at 15:00 ET:
United States | SiriusXM FC, TalkSport Radio, Mun2, NBCSN, NBC Sports Live Extra |
Check out the Man City-Chelsea match page for live listings and live scores.