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Possible Chelsea Lineup To Play Against Manchester City – Fabregas And Costa Out, Drogba To Start

Pellegrini, Mourinho

Chelsea Vs Manchester City – Now this is one mouthwatering fixture which you cannot afford to miss by any means. The top guns in the League battle it out at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and this one is going to be one heck of a game, beyond shadow of a doubt. Jose Mourinho and company have a five-count benefit over the Manchester opponents and triumph would imply an early February closedown for the latter.

Now, Chelsea has certainly not had a heyday at the park in the past weeks. The Premier League leaders had to go through a disheartening 2-4 drubbing at the hands of their West Yorkshire rivals last weekend, thus, shattering the latter’s shot at the F.A Cup. However, the Blues made well of the loss with a pulsating midweek triumph against their English rivals Liverpool. The victory not only confirmed a berth for the home side in the Capital One cup finals, but also inspired a hell lot of confidence in the Chelsea dressing room at the onset of the big league fixture against the Citizens.

Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini’s side has managed to bag in just two victories from the past five fixtures. Now this is something really not phenomenal from the Citizens. On a very interesting note, no team has vanquished Man City time and again in the Premier League other than Chelsea. That being said, Pellegrini would love to turn it to the right corner, while Mourinho would rather take it as an opportunity to transpire out of this patchy spell and recoup to his winning ways.

Team News and Predictions:

Chelsea Fabregas Costa

With Thibaut Courtois looking completely fit and fine now, the boss might entrust him with the responsibility of the bars in all likelihood. The Belgian has had an impressive debut season in the English side and was profoundly instrumental in Chelsea’s victory against Liverpool.

Surprisingly, Garry Cahill had been withheld at the dug out for the midweek fixture with Kurt Zouma coming down instead. Nevertheless, the boss is likely to recall him to the central defence at Stamford Bridge in company with skipper John Terry. On the other hand, Branislav Ivanović’s injury tends to be a major concern for Mourinho. However, the Serbian international should be fit enough to shrug off his injury and start at the right as usual. Filipe Luiz might skim over this one owing to a calf strain, while, César Azpilicueta is expected to come down to play on Saturday.

The midfield battle would be something quite interesting at the Bridge. With Yaya Toure missing out from the City line-up, the Blues would spare no stone unturned to keep the midfield under their thumbs. Nonetheless, there is some bad news with Cesc Fàbregas as he seems to have picked up a hamstring injury from the Liverpool fixture and might just be counted out on Saturday. That being said, Ramires might partner Nemanja Matic at the base of the park in all probability.

Willian shall resume his role on the right flank, while Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah might be assigned the benches this weekend. Oscar and Eden Hazard will complete the final three on the attacking players.

Upfront, Diego Costa misses out the action at the Bridge owing to a three match suspension. The Spaniard had been booked for stamping Emre Can earlier in the week, which might turn out to be a real blow for the Blues in this big league match-up. With Costa’s absence, Didier Drogba might lead the attack in all likeliness.

A lot to unfold of the title decider game, as both teams fight it out for glory. Meanwhile, here is our take on the projected line-up of the Blues against the Citizens:

  • Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois
  • Defence: Branislav Ivanović, John Terry, Garry Cahill, César Azpilicueta
  • Midfield: Nemanja Matic, Ramires, Willian, Oscar, Eden Hazard
  • Forward: Didier Drogba

League Standing: 1

League Points: 52

League Form: WLDWW

Possible Formation: 4-2-3-1