Man City v Chelsea match preview

By: j | September 12th, 2008

After all the publicity and hubbub about the future of Man City, it is time to deal to get back on the pitch and deal with reality of “today.” The future is certainly bright but for the moment City supporters have to temper that slightly (but just slightly). While new ownership is certainly committed to knocking that other Manchester club off its snooty perch, reinforcements in the form of the January transfer window, are still a few months away. With that in mind its time to turn our attention to Chelsea’s visit of Eastlands.

Recent Form
Chelsea – combined (2 W, 1 D, 0 L)(6 GS, 2 GA)
Aug 17 Chelsea 4 – 0 Portsmouth
Aug 24 Wigan 0 – 1 Chelsea
Aug 31 Chelsea 1 – 1 Tottenham

Manchester City – combined (2 W, D, 1 L)(8 GS, 4 GA)
Aug 17 Aston Villa 4 – 2 Man City
Aug 24 Man City 3 – 0 West Ham
Aug 31 Sunderland 0 – 3 Man City

Robinho debuts at Eastlands joining the Brazil beat connection of Jô and Elano although Mr. Martin Petrov, Micah Richards and Michael Johnson are likely out. For Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Chelsea, Joe Cole is said to be back after that blood-letting in Croatia and Didier Drogba is said to be healthy.

Since the initial week City has done an about-face and turned into a goal scoring machine. How they react without the services of Martin Petrov will be notable but all eyes will be towards the magic of Robinho and how he links up with Jô and Elano and the star of the Stoke City match, Shaun Wright-Phillips. Vincent Kompany’s play already has made him one of the best off-season acquisitions and his play in a tight match could be key. On the opposite side of the pitch the excitement of Chelsea’s initial week has tied down and their play has been somewhat humdrum. How both clubs respond to fatigue of the international break may be the key decider.

I will report on the match as it concludes.