Chelsea are struggling for form at the moment in the Premier League, winning only one out of their last five games. Frank Lampard's men have fallen off the pace in the title race and are in dire need of a victory to re-ignite their campaign. The Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa last time out and to rediscover their cutting edge at both ends of the pitch to work their way back into contention.
Manchester City saw their recent momentum halted by a Covid-19 outbreak that resulted in the postponement of their Premier League clash against Everton. Several players are missing from their squad due to the outbreak, leaving Pep Guardiola short on resources. The Spaniard faces a tough challenge to maintain his side's three-game winning streak that has elevated them back into the title race.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Edouard Mendy; Cesar Azpilicueta, Kurt Zouma, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell; Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante, Mason Mount; Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic.
CHELSEA SUBS: Kepa Arrizabalga, Antonio Rudiger, Jorginho, Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Billy Gilmour, Kai Havertz, Emerson.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Zack Steffen; Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden; Raheem Sterling.
MANCHESTER CITY SUBS: Sergio Aguero, Benjamin Mendy, Fernandinho, Scott Carson, Riyad Mahrez, Liam Delap, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Luke Mbete.
Chelsea have made five changes to their side that drew against Villa last time out. Thiago Silva and Zouma return to the middle of the back four in place of Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, who misses out on a place in the squad. Kovacic slots into the midfield to replace Jorginho, while Werner and Ziyech get the nod ahead of Giroud and Hudson-Odoi in the final third.
City are without a host of players due to their Covid-19 outbreak. Ederson, Nathan Ake, Ferran Torres, Aymeric Laporte, Eric Garcia, Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus are all out. There are three changes to their side from their win over Newcastle United last time out. Steffen is called in to replace Ederson between the posts, while Zinchenko slots into the defence in place of Ake. Foden starts in the final third in the absence of Torres, which sees Sterling spearhead the attack.
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Chelsea have won their last two Premier League home games against Manchester City, last winning more consecutively against them at Stamford Bridge between 2006-2009 (4).
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