Chelsea
Chelsea as a host for sure be considered as a superior. One factor is The Blues’ positive trend since Guus Hiddink replaced Scolari. In all matches in six different events, Chelsea took home five victories and one draw.
At the first meeting in Manchester on 13 September 2008, Chelsea was also proving their maturity. The Blues outclassed The Citizens with score 3-1. On the other hand, the City can only grab one win when playing away from home in Premier League this season, when they outplayed Sunderland 3-0 at the Stadium of Light on 31 August 2008.
Manchester City
Manchester City have failed to score at Stamford Bridge in 5 Epl games in Abramovich era and the away record to Big Four is not good, won just once in 21 games. Mark Hughes will be hoping Robinho can lead the line, which his first goal for the club was against Chelsea.
Team News
Defensive absentee Ricardo Carvalho may make a welcome return to first-team duty after recovering sufficiently from his hamstring complaint.
For Man City, key midfielders Nigel de Jong and Vincent Kompany, who would both have provided City with great anchoring discipline, are sidelined with respective knee and toe injuries. Two former Blues – Wayne Bridge and Shaun Wright-Phillips – will make their highly anticipated Stamford Bridge returns. Craig Bellamy is unlikely to feature.
