Pep Guardiola's side made it two wins in a row last time out, coming from a goal down to defeat Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor. The visitors found themselves on the back foot early on and showed signs that they might suffer their second league loss away from home in 2016/17, but two strikes from Sergio Aguero turned the match on its head and ensured the favourites were not on the wrong end of a major upset. City now seem to have put their stuttering spell behind them and remain in a strong position as the season enters its fifth month, with just a single point currently separating them from their upcoming opponents at the summit of the standings.
Chelsea were also victorious by the same scoreline last time out, the Blues coming from a goal down to defeat Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge. Antonio Conte's charges struggled in the opening 45 minutes and deservedly fell behind to Christian Eriksen's fine strike, with Spurs' high pressing approach asking Chelsea the type of questions that they have not really been posed so far this season. The hosts turned things around in the second period, though, as they wrestled back control and gave Tottenham plenty to think about in a defensive sense. It is now seven successive victories in the Premier League for Chelsea, who have looked almost unstoppable in the top flight in recent weeks.
City will be without skipper Vincent Kompany and Fabian Delph, but Raheem Sterling should be fit enough to feature despite picking up a knock last weekend. Midfielders Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and David Silva are all in line to return to the starting line-up, while John Stones will also be hoping to replace Aleksandar Kolarov in the heart of the City backline.
Chelsea, meanwhile, will be missing club captain John Terry and John Obi Mikel, with Conte extremely unlikely to make any changes to his starting XI for his team's trip to the northwest. Midfielders N'Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic will be forced to cover a great deal of ground in the centre of the park against a City side who like to control the space and dominate possession, while the speed of Eden Hazard and Pedro Rodriguez will be vital if the Blues are to enjoy success on the counter-attack.
Overall, a draw could be on the cards when Manchester City lock horns with championship challengers Chelsea this weekend; while the Blues are in the better form at present, Guardiola's men still have more than enough attacking quality to cause their opponents problems in front of their own supporters at the Etihad Stadium. 1-1 looks like a tempting proposition in the correct scoreline market, with Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa the two most obvious choices for the game’s first goalscorer.
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