Manchester City - Chelsea Preview: Mourinhos men aiming to pull level on points with hosts Manchester City host Chelsea are now playing in a clash which puts the Premier Leagues most potent attack against its tightest defence. A trip to the Etihad Stadium has become a daunting place to travel this season, with City having won 17 of their 18 games there in all competitions and scoring an incredible 72 goals in the process. Manuel Pellegrinis men have won all 11 of their Premier League fixtures on home soil this term, finding the net 42 times, and their scoring exploits continued on the road in midweek as they hammered Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane. That result took Citys total Premier League goal tally to 68 in 23 matches and a run of eight consecutive top-flight victories means another win will see them reclaim top spot from Arsenal. Chelsea, though, sit only three points adrift of City in third on the back of just one defeat in their last 13 Premier League outings - and much of their success this term has been built on their resilient defence. Jose Mourinhos side have conceded just three times in eight top-flight fixtures since their last loss at Stoke City on December 7 and have let in only 20 goals in 23 games this season while keeping nine clean sheets. Todays match represents the first of two visits to the Etihad in the space of 12 days for Chelsea, as they will also travel to Manchester for an FA Cup fifth-round tie on February 15, and Mourinho is adamant that he has no intention of simply attempting to avoid defeat in either game. Chelsea try to win every game, the Portuguese told the press. We are not going to change our philosophy. We are going in a certain direction and just because we are playing a certain opponent doesnt mean we are going to change that. The Blues can take heart from the fact that they beat City 2-1 in the reverse fixture in October courtesy of Fernando Torress last-gasp winner. Torres has missed this encounter with a knee problem, as well as Citys goalscorer on that occasion, Sergio Aguero, who is sidelined after picking up a hamstring problem in the win at Tottenham. Samir Nasri (knee) and Javi Garcia (knock) are both also unavailable to Pellegrini. With the exception of Torres and long-term absentee Marco van Ginkel (knee), Mourinho is with fully fit squad from which he chooses and new signing Mohamed Salah could be in line for his debut. LPM
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 20:56:18 +0000