EPL Preview: Chelsea V. Manchester City [5:00pm]

The biggest English Premier League game of the weekend is undoubtedly the Chelsea vs Manchester City matchup at Stamford Bridge in London today, November 25th. Chelsea will be hoping their home advantage & new coach earn them all the three points at stake.

Both teams are coming off a disappointing week in the Champions League. Man City was held to a 1-1 home draw against Real Madrid which ultimately condemned them to the less prestigious EuropaCup while Chelsea were handed a lesson in goal scoring in Turin where they fell 3-0 to Italian champions, Juventus.

City hasn’t lost a game in the league yet and go into this game in second place with 28 points from eight wins and four draws. Chelsea also come into this match sitting in fourth place just behind West Brom. They have seven wins, three draws and two losses in league play. A win against City here would put them right back in the middle of the title race after having only managed to earn two points in their last four league matches.

In their last 10 meetings, Chelsea has won six games against City while the Manchester club has won the other four. They last met in the Community Shield in august and City won 3-2 after Chelsea had a man sent off. City has scored 25 league goals this season with Chelsea right behind them at 24. City’s defence is the best in the league after conceding just 10 goals against Chelsea’s 13.

City manager Roberto Mancini has a lot of power upfront with four world class strikers to choose from – Carlos Tevez, Sergio Agüero, Mario Balotelli, and Edin Dzeko. He also has attack-minded players in David Silva and Samir Nasri not forgetting the ever dependable Yaya Toure. Fernando Torres could return to the starting XI under new Chelsea manager Rafael Benítez, after coming on as a substitute against Juventus.

Chelsea will have to play without skipper John Terry as he’s injured and it looks like English international midfielder Frank Lampard will also miss the game. For City, they will also be without their captain as Vincent Kompany will likely miss the contest after being injured against Madrid. Defenders Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott are also questionable.

Chelsea (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole; Ramires, Mikel; Mata, Hazard, Moses; Torres.

Manchester City (Possible, 4-4-2): Hart; Maicon, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy; Silva, Y Touré, Barry, Nasri; Agüero, Tévez.

Swansea City v. Liverpool -2:30 PM

Southampton v. Newcastle United -4:00 PM

Chelsea v. Manchester City -5:00 PM

Tottenham Hotspur v. West Ham United -5:00 PM