City face Chelsea on Saturday in what is undoubtedly the biggest game of City’s season so far. It’s a game that could well decide which way the title swings in May, despite it only coming in late January; that’s the significance of this weekend.
Of course, it could all have been a different story had City not had a run of poor league results this month, with not a single league win since New Year’s Day. At one point, City managed to get into pole position on top of the league, but Chelsea retained their position at the end of the matchday based on goals. Since then, Chelsea have managed to rebuild their lead at the top of the table, and currently sit five points clear. Depending on how Saturday’s game finishes, the lead could end up anywhere between two and eight points by that night. That perhaps shows the significance of the game better than anything else.
In the earlier game against Chelsea this season, City managed to get a 1-1 draw at home back in September. That day was remembered well not only because of the Frank Lampard goal – a goal which was welcome more than most in Manchester – but also for the refereeing, which was questionable at times. However, a point was probably fair in the end, with City doing well to come from behind with 10 men.
In this fixture last season, all the way back in October 2013, the result wasn’t quite so positive. A Schürrle goal in the first half put Chelsea on course for the three points, before Agüero netted shortly after the break, with a superb finish. City looked set to be leaving London with a point, until a calamitous mix-up at the back between Joe Hart and Matija Nastasić allowed Fernando Torres to run in and score an easy injury-time winner. That led to Hart being dropped, and subsequently an improvement in form when he was brought back in.
Whilst City’s injury list is quite small, they still have some other absentees to be concerned about. Eliaquim Mangala is out with a groin injury, whilst Nasri is still missing with his calf muscle strain. Yaya Touré and Wilfried Bony are both still absent after the Ivory Coast progressed to the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations in midweek; there were rumours before that game that City were ready to jet both players back to England in time for Saturday’s trip to London, but a 1-0 win saw them through the group stages.
On the other hand, Chelsea’s injury list is somewhat bigger. Filipe Luis (calf), Branislav Ivanovic (ankle) and Cesc Fábregas (hamstring) all miss out, whilst John Obi Mikel (head) and Andre Schürrle (back) are both able to return in time. However, Schürrle is reportedly close to agreeing a move back to the Bundesliga, and could have left prior to Saturday regardless. Of the players missing, Fábregas is probably the most significant absentee, having been important for Chelsea so far this season.
Another absentee which could be pivotal to Saturday’s fixture is Diego Costa. He is facing retrospective action after he was charged with violent conduct in Chelsea’s win against Liverpool on Tuesday. Although he’s appealing the charge, which would usually mean he could play until the hearing happened, the hearing has been fast-tracked to Friday to get around that issue, meaning he could well still be banned for Saturday.
There aren’t many matches that will be as eagerly anticipated as they will be dreaded. After the last couple of games, City will be desperate to get back on form, but there aren’t many harder places than Stamford Bridge to try and do that. Meanwhile, Chelsea will want to open up that eight point gap again. What will happen on Saturday is anyone’s guess at this point, but it could end up being one of our most interesting games for some time.
