Chelsea vs. Man City
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick off: 5:30PM
Defending champions Chelsea take on leaders Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in the standout fixture of matchday seven in the Premier League.
The Citizens have started the season in scintillating form by winning eight and drawing one of their first nine games overall, though the gap on Chelsea stands at just three points heading into this heavyweight tussle.
For all the talk of a crisis in West London after the opening week of the season, it is fair to say that Chelsea have made their critics look rather silly by getting their campaign firmly back on track.
Three-successive competitive defeats stretching into last season rightly gave boss Antonio Conte cause for concern, particularly after going down 3-2 to Burnley on home soil, but the Blues are in a strong position both domestically and in Europe right now.
The goalless draw against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago may not have given supporters reason to celebrate, with that their first blank under Conte here in 28 competitive outings, though 10 wins form their last 12 in the top flight suggests that they remain a real force.
In the midst of a hugely impressive run that has seen City rack up 26 goals in a seven-match winning streak, Pep Guardiola has been keen to constantly remind supporters that it is far too early to get carried away.
They did, after all, win 10 on the spin to begin last season, before fading away badly and finishing without any silverware whatsoever – the first time that has happened in Guardiola’s senior managerial career.
Guardiola confessed this week that another campaign without a trophy could well see him sacked, particularly after spending so big in the summer to overhaul his full-back department, but despite last season’s struggles he has still been labelled the world’s best manager by opposite number Conte.
City have been dealt a major blow in the build-up to the game, however, with the news that Benjamin Mendy faces at least six months out, while Sergio Aguero has been ruled out indefinitely, putting pressure on their other star names to step up to the plate.
Chelsea possible XI: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill, Moses, Bakayoko, Kante, Alonso, Pedro, Hazard, Morata.
Manchester City possible XI: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Danilo, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Silva, Sterling, Jesus, Sane.