Chelsea v Man City: Predicted Line-Ups For The Big Game

Chelsea take on Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon with both sides looking to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal.

Jose Mourinho’s men currently sit second – two points adrift of the Gunners – but City are just a further point back so it’s all to play for this weekend.

Chelsea have been boosted by the return of Ashley Cole to the squad. The defender has missed the last two games with a rib injury and was left back in London to continue his rehabilitation in midweek as the Blues beat Schalke 3-0 in the Champions League.

But Mourinho confirmed at his press conference on Friday that Cole has been passed fit to play and is likely to come straight back in to the starting line-up.

Gary Cahill was preferred to David Luiz in midweek after the Brazilians error against Cardiff last weekend so we think Mourinho will opt to stick with the former Bolton man on Sunday.

The other big question mark is who will start up front with Fernando Torres the favourite after an excellent two-goal performance against Schalke. Juan Mata is pushing for a recall and may replace Andre Schurrle, but Eden Hazard is expected to retain his place after an excellent display last time out. Here’s our predicted team:

Chelsea Line-Up

As for City, they have been dealt a blow with the news that captain Vincent Kompany will miss the game after failing to recover from his thigh strain in time. The Belgian picked up the problem against Everton earlier this month and although he’s working hard on his recovery, this game will come too soon.

Manuel Pellegrini has no fresh injury worries but could make a few changes from the side that beat Spartak Moscow in midweek. Samir Nasri is pushing for a recall and may replace Jesus Navas while Gael Clichy could come in for Kolarov at left back.

With Kompany out it looks like Garcia will continue at the back while Pablo Zabaleta will hope to keep Micah Richards out the team. Sergio Aguero is certain to play as he looks to continue his fine recent goal-scoring form. Here’s our predicted Man City team:

Man City Line-Up

What do you think of our line-ups? What would yours be?