Chelsea will be looking to pick up all three points when they welcome Manchester City to Stamford Bridge later today. Both teams are in desperate need for a win particularly Chelsea, so that they can maintain the lead at the top of the Premier league table.
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Antonio Conte and his men suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace over the weekend and they will be hoping to avoid another defeat today. Chelsea have not lost consecutive Premier League matches at their home ground since November 2011, when Andre Villas Boas was in charge while Conte has not lost successive club league games since he was manager of Atalanta in November 2009.
Manchester City's form in the Premier League has not been great lately. They drew to Stoke City, Liverpool and most recently Arsenal and they need to pick up three points today to avoid slipping out of the top four.
Conte has worked wonders since switching to his preferred 3-4-3 formation, but the absence of Victor Moses in the match against Crystal Palace exposed their dependency on him. The Blues are will miss him in this match too as he is still nursing a toe injury. Apart from Moses, Chelsea do not have any serious injuries to deal with, but his absence could once again prove to be the difference.
Conte said they are still in a good position to win the Premier League title but this clash against Manchester City will not be easy because they are a really good team.
"It's normal that with 27 points available anything can happen in the league, but we are in a really good position. We haven't had many days to prepare for this game but it's the same for Man City. These teams have a clear identity. It won't be easy because they are a very good team," BBC quoted Conte as saying.
Despite being four points clear of fifth place Manchester United, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City should be really concerned ahead of their clash against Chelsea. They have been struggling in the defence all season and that could continue against Chelsea. Chelsea have the best goal difference this season and if Guardiola does not sort his defence issues they could end on the losing side again.
However, if the Chelsea versus Crystal Palace match taught us anything, it's that Chelsea struggle without their first choice players and with Moses set to miss out again, Manchester City will certainly be looking to capitalise and pick up all three points.
Bacary Sagna remains sidelined for Guardiola with an abductor injury and could be out for another few weeks but Pablo Zabaleta is set to return. Gabriel Jesus is also back in training but might miss this match.
Guardiola said this match is a really big away game for the team.
"Chelsea will be a big game and especially a big game away, it is important to learn from these kinds of games for the future. They play less games; they have more time to prepare. But Chelsea will be in Europe next year and they have the quality to compete. Chelsea deserve to be where they are, they have won a lot of games and deserve their position," Guardiola said.
Where to watch
The Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City is set to start at 8 pm local time, 12.30 am IST and 3 pm EST.
TV and Live streaming information
India: TV: Star Sports select HD 2. Live Streaming: Hotstar
UK: TV: BT Sports 1. Live streaming: BT Sports live streaming
USA: TV: NBCSN, Telemundo. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live
Africa: TV: Super Sport 3. Live streaming: Super Sport live
Middle East: TV: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect
