Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole could be fit to face Manchester City on Sunday after missing the last two matches with a rib injury. Defender Gary Cahill was preferred to David Luiz for Tuesdays win at Schalke and will hope to retain his place. Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany remains sidelined with the thigh problem that has kept him out of the last two matches. Martin Demichelis is not yet ready to make his debut following a knee injury. MATCH PREVIEW I took a call from an old friend in the United States this week. Hes a big fan of giant truck racing. Chelsea-Man City! he exclaimed. I can see it in my dreams. The old Blue Thunder against the new Blue Thunder. All shiny and gleaming. Awesome man! While not really appreciating a 2am phone call from a clearly deranged soon-to-be ex-friend, I thought Id best do some research. Apparently Blue Thunder in the 1980s was the biggest Chevrolet Camaro ever built. But the Blue Thunder Ford of the last few years has all the potential to be the worlds best. Through sleepy eyes I could just about get his point as I watched video of two mighty machines bumping but bellowing over pitfalls placed in front of them. Chelsea, the old Blue Thunder, lustrous with its supremely confident Jose at the wheel. City, the new upstarts, with even more power in the tank. Its a monster mash-up. These two squads are currently valued at £820m. This is a signpost game for the title. Nothing will be decided for months of course. But a third league defeat by November would seriously dent Citys credentials. A first ever league home defeat for Mourinho at Chelsea would be a significant setback to their recent progress. Chelsea are beginning to look really good. Theyre unbeaten in seven games and scoring for fun. City also look highly dangerous going forward. Sergio Aguero is in lethal form with four goals in three games and 72 in his last 112 for club and country. But without Vincent Kompany they lack discipline at the back. Mistakes are being made. At home, the 2012 champions are so powerful. Away they can succumb too easily. Only four wins in 12 Premier League trips is not a title-winning ratio. So the form book favours Chelsea. Their defence is tighter right now. Their strikers are hitting form. But with all the glittering stars on display it still wouldnt surprise me if its as drab and tight as it was in last years 0-0. Rafa Benitez was booed by his own fans then. Theres no danger of the Special One getting the same treatment and, wherever hes sitting,I reckon the driver of the old Blue Thunder will cross the finish line ahead. MATCH FACTS Head-to-head Manchester Citys only win in their last 15 trips to Chelsea was a 4-2 success in February 2010 when Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy both scored twice for the visitors (W1, D4, L10). City failed to score in 10 of those 15 matches and last seasons corresponding fixture ended goalless, with Rafa Benitez suffering a hostile reception from Chelseas supporters throughout his first game in charge of the club. Manchester City have won seven of the last 10 meetings in all competitions (W7, D1, L2). In three seasons in Spain, Jose Mourinhos Real Madrid beat Manuel Pellegrinis Malaga five times out of seven in all competitions, losing just once and scoring 24 goals - including 7-0 and 6-2 home wins. Chelsea Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 13 Premier League home games - winning 11 - since a 1-0 defeat by QPR on 2 January. They have won all four home games this season and Jose Mourinho is unbeaten in his 64 Premier League fixtures at Stamford Bridge (W50, D14). The Blues have not conceded more than one goal in a Premier League match this season. Mourinhos side have won all four matches in which they opened the scoring. Samuel Etoo scored the first Premier League goal by a Chelsea striker this season in the 4-1 victory over Cardiff last weekend. Midfielder Oscar has already scored four league goals this season, as many as he managed during the entire 2012-13 season. Manchester City City are the first team to score 20 Premier League goals this season. The 3-1 victory at West Ham last weekend was their biggest Premier League away win since December. It was also only Citys fourth win in their last 12 Premier League away games (W4, D3, L5). They have lost twice from winning positions this season, a record only matched by Crystal Palace prior to the weekend fixtures. Sergio Aguero has scored in three league matches in a row; he has never scored in four successive league games for Manchester
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 15:39:59 +0000
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