Manchester City vs Chelsea, Live Premier League score: Manchester City have faced just one defeat at home so far in the season.
The Premier League’s defending champions Chelsea face champions-elect Manchester City away from home. Chelsea are fighting for a top-four spot and winning this match would allow them to be within two points of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. But winning at the Etihad Stadium has been something of a holy grail for any side involved in a tournament that City are playing in. In the Premier League, City have won all but three matches played at home. Their only defeat this season has been at home against Liverpool but they have pretty much canceled that out by scoring 11 goals in the three matches that followed. Apart from the league equations, both sides are also active in Europe which might affect how they play. While City are pretty much through to the quarter-finals, having beaten Basel 4-0 in the first leg, Chelsea face a nervous trip to Barcelona where they will be hunting for a goal to cancel the Catalan giants’ away goal advantage.
Arsenal have lost 2-1 to Brighton. It is the Gunners' fourth successive Premier League defeat. If you thought Chelsea and City's 22-point gap is a lot, Arsenal trail City by 30 points. Subtlety has been at a premium this season.
That is the biggest takeaway from this team selection and that is one absence Chelsea could have done without. The Frenchman is out due to illness. No Alvaro Morata for the visitors too. City have brought on Alexander Zinchenko and Aymeric Laporte, Vincent Kompany and Danilo having to do with a place on the bench.
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Zinchenko, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Silva, Bernardo Silva, Aguero, Sane.
Subs: Bravo, Danilo, Kompany, Stones, Gabriel Jesus, Toure, Foden.
Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Moses, Fabregas, Drinkwater, Alonso, Willian, Hazard, Pedro.
Subs:Chalobah, Caballero, Morata, Giroud, Zappacosta, Cahill, Emerson.
Sixth-placed Chelsea are 22 points behind top-ranked Manchester City. To put things in perspective, the side currently occupying the bottom place in the league, West Brom, have got 20 points this entire season. City have been a league or two above the rest of their title rivals and Chelsea have been anything but the dominant force they were last season. Their defeat down the other side of Manchester in their previous outing would have done little to lift their confidence. Both sides are on a level pedestal as far as spending power is concerned but, if Antonio Conte is to be believed, Chelsea are a second-tier club compared to the financial might of Manchester City. He said that the board doesn't "share his ambition" and so he is left with a lot of it but no money. Pep Guardiola, on the other hand, has pressing concerns like how to stop his side from thinking they are perfect.