English Premier League – Match Preview: Manchester City vs. Chelsea
In one of the biggest matches that will take in the 2010-2011 English Premier League season, Manchester City host Chelsea at the City of Manchester Stadium as the leaders meet the third placed team for their sixth league match of the season. It is bound
to be an event filled game as both the clubs are gunning for the English Premier League trophy this season.
Chelsea won the English Premier League last season after tipping Manchester United for the first place spot on the final day of the season whereas Manchester City finished fifth in the 2009-2010 season after losing out on the fourth placed spot in the final
weeks on the last English Premier League season to Tottenham. Currently, Chelsea lead the English Premier League table after winning all of their opening five matches of the season.
In their first match of the season, The Blues defeated West Bromwich Albion by six goals to nil and then proceeded onto defeat Wigan by the same score line as well. In their third match, Carlo Ancelotti’s men faced Stoke City, a match that they won by a
couple of goals in the end. West Ham United were the next team to suffer from Chelsea’s wrath as the English champions fired three goals past the Hammers and only conceded one to take all three points away from the Upton Park.
Blackpool were next in Carlo and Drogba’s firing line as the Seasiders got demolished at Stamford Bridge. Malouda bagged two whereas Drogba and Kalou netted one goal each to give their team a well deserved four goal win over the English Premier League’s
new boys. However, Chelsea’s winning ways recently came to a grinding half as they lost their third round Carling Cup match against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
It was a disappointing loss for the champions but it was magnified by the fact that they lost Kalou, Benayoun and Gael Kakuta to different injuries during the match. With Frank Lampard already scheduled to miss the Manchester City match with a hernia problem,
Chelsea are suddenly looking short of players as they look to defend their English Premier League title through the thick and thin of the club football season in England.
On the other hand, Manchester City are currently ranked at fourth in the English league table after drawing two, losing one and winning two of their opening five encounters in the English Premier League. It hasn’t been a vintage start for Roberto Mancini’s
club who spent millions of pounds in the summer transfer window to bring in stars such as James Milner, David Silva, Jerome Boateng and Yaya Toure. Manchester City’s most unsatisfactory result of the season has been their loss to Sunderland at the Stadium
of Lights, followed closely by their failure to their win against Blackburn Rovers at the City of Manchester Stadium. However, the men in light blue were very convincing in their three nil demolition of Liverpool in their second match of the season.
Manchester City have several injury problems of their own as they only have three defenders fit for this clash. Jerome Boateng, Alexander Kolarov, Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott are all sidelined for Manchester City with different types of injuries. Regardless
of the fact that City have only played five games in the English Premier League season so far, their manager Roberto Mancini is already under pressure as like Chelsea, they also got knocked out of the Carling Cup after losing to West Bromwich Albion in their
mid-week third round match.
The main men to watch out for in this encounter will be Carlos Tevez from Manchester City and Didier Drogba from Chelsea. Both of these strikers have been on fire for their respective clubs and are favourites to find the back of the net for their own clubs.
Given that Chelsea are facing City with an injury depleted squad and the fact that they pulled a double over Chelsea in the last English Premier League season, it can be said that Mancini’s men are favourites to come away with three points from this vital
top of the table match between the two English giants.
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