Match Preview: Manchester City vs Chelsea

Kompany still injured ahead of biggest game this season

By Aaron Leggott

Despite a 4-0 win at home to Leeds last weekend, City go into this game on the back of some poor recent league form. 

Picking up just two points from a possible nine has put United in a great position to take the title away from the Blues, and if Mancini's men can't grab a win tomorrow, it will result in the worst run of league form since November 2009, when the club went on a run of seven consecutive draws in the Premier League.

Tomorrow's game against Chelsea is possibly the biggest game of our season so far, and with the visitors breathing down our necks in third position, victory is imperative against Rafael Benitez's men.

Out of form: Carlos Tevez
Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Europe

It has been difficult to pin what the problem has been for City this season, but personally it is hard to look past the poor form from our forwards, and in particular Carlos Tevez. Whilst the Argentinian has given his all in every game he has started, his failure to score in his last eight league appearances is a worrying stat.

Defensively, we are still extremely competent, and despite Vincent Kompany expecting to miss his fifth consecutive game through a calf injury, we still boast the best defensive record in the league, with 11 clean sheets to our name so far.

Gareth Barry also is expected to join Kompany on the sidelines as he recovers from an ankle injury, whilst Chelsea are expected to make a number of changes to the side that drew against Sparta Prague on Thursday night.

Frank Lampard and Demba Ba should both return to the starting line-up and the pair will hope to change Chelsea's recent fortunes against City, with the Blues winning five of their last eight in all competitions against Chelsea.

My thoughts

This is a must win game for City and whilst Chelsea will provide a great threat to our chances of victory, I believe that we will come away with three vital points and keep Chelsea away from us. In terms of the title race, a 15 point gap will be extremely difficult to catch now, and in all honesty I just want the players to focus on winning every game and see what happens - it's extremely unlikely that we'll win, but you never know with football as last season proved. 

Prediction: 2-1 City

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