Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for today's Premier League showdown between Chelsea and
Manchester City at Stamford Bridge!
City come into this match in the unfamiliar position of being in second place following Liverpool's win earlier in the day, and need a victory in this difficult fixture to restore their two-point lead at the top today. Chelsea are in growing need of a win themselves, though, with the top-four race really hotting up now too.
We will have a close look at both teams in a short while, but first let's check out the team news...
CHELSEA STARTING XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Pedro, Hazard
CHELSEA SUBS: Caballero, Christensen, Emerson, Fabregas, Loftus-Cheek, Barkley, Giroud
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Delph; Bernardo, Fernandinho, Silva; Mahrez, Sane, Sterling
MAN CITY SUBS: Muric, Danilo, Kompany, Gundogan, Otamendi, Jesus, Foden
What can we make of those two sides, then?
Well, both have made interesting decisions regarding their strikers, but let's start with the home side who look like playing Pedro through the middle today.
Morata was expected to lose his place in the team after another unconvincing performance in midweek, but it was Giroud who was considered most likely to replace him. Instead, though, Sarri goes with Pedro alongside Hazard and Willian in that front three.
Hazard should be Chelsea's main dangerman today, but the Belgian does not come into this match in particularly good form and will be looking to end an 11-match goal drought for club and country today.
There are many who would rank Hazard as the best player in the league - ahead of any of the players he will come up against today - but for all of his talent, his goalscoring return has been quite modest down the years when you compare him to the likes of Raheem Sterling or Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
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Sarri has made four changes in total from the team which lost to Wolves in midweek, and all of them were expected - although Ruben Loftus-Cheek will feel hard done by to lose his place in the team.
The midfielder was Chelsea's best player at Molineux and opened the scoring to continue what has been an impressive run in front of goal when he has had chances, but he is replaced by Mateo Kovacic for this one.
A much less contentious change sees Jorginho return to the starting lineup, having been so close to joining City instead of Chelsea during the summer.
Stopping the deep-lying playmaker is key to stopping Chelsea, so he will need to find a way to counteract the attention he is sure to get today. David Luiz is the final change from the home side as Andreas Christensen drops back to the bench.
As for City, they look like they will be playing Raheem Sterling through the middle this afternoon, with Gabriel Jesus punished for his misfiring ways by being dropped to the bench.
Aguero is still sidelined for a third successive match due to a muscle problem, so Sterling will lead the line in his place. Pep Guardiola had been posed with the enviable dilemma of who to drop from his in-form winger trio of Sane, Mahrez and Sterling, and so instead he has decided to start them all.
Sterling has been in stunning form for City so far this season, but the England international does not have the best record against Chelsea in the Premier League.
It is something he will look to improve on what is his 24th birthday today, but he has failed to score and provided just one assist in nine league appearances against the Blues - a far cry from his tally of eight goals and six assists from 13 league games this season.
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Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane were both also on the scoresheet in midweek, and the latter in particular has overcome a slow start to the campaign - when he wasn't an automatic pick - to flourish once again.
Indeed, Sane has not failed to either score or assist a goal in any of his eight Premier League starts this season, contributing to 11 goals in total by netting six of his own and creating a further five.
It is back to as close to full strength as Guardiola can field at the moment for this one, with Laporte returning in place of Kompany and both Bernardo and David Silva starting once again.
Indeed, the introductions of Laporte and Sterling are the only two changes made by Guardiola from the midweek win over Watford, with Stones retaining his place at the heart of the defence and Delph continuing on the left with Zinchenko and Mendy injured.
There is quality at every turn for Guardiola, then, and Chelsea will be in no doubt as to the size of the challenge which awaits them here today - although they have already held Liverpool to a draw here this season and the Reds begin the game above City in the table.
Chelsea were right in that title mix themselves less than a month ago, but a recent dip in form has highlighted how relentless the pace is which is being set by those top two so far this season.
Chelsea were unbeaten for their first 12 games of the season, with
Maurizio Sarri setting a new record for the longest managerial unbeaten start in the division, and were being spoken of in the same breath as City and Liverpool as potential title challengers.
However, the Blues have now lost two of their last three games and that has suddenly opened up a 10-point gap to City and an 11-point gap to Liverpool after their win over Bournemouth earlier.
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Indeed, results in the 3pm kickoffs have now seen Chelsea drop out of the top four, with Arsenal replacing them courtesy of their win over Huddersfield, meaning that only a victory will do for them here if they are to end the weekend in the Champions League places.
Beyond that too, anything other than a win would surely extinguish any lingering title hopes too, while defeat would leave them 13 points adrift of the champions after only 16 games.
After winning each of their first five games this season, Chelsea have since won just four of the next 10 to go from title contenders to top-four hopefuls, but there is no denying that Sarri has still made a good start to life in the Premier League.
Prior to today, only Man City and Arsenal had scored more goals than Chelsea and only Liverpool and Man City had conceded fewer, so Chelsea are clearly doing something right - even if Sarri insists that they still have plenty to improve.
It wasn't until game number 13 of the league season that Chelsea suffered their first defeat, being swept aside by Tottenham, but their 2-1 loss to Wolves on Wednesday would have been even more disappointing.
Wolves had picked up just one point from their previous six league games and went into the match off the back of successive defeats to Huddersfield and Cardiff, but they came from behind to pick up a 2-1 win at Molineux.
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Both of those defeats have come on the road, though, which means that
Maurizio Sarri is still yet to taste defeat at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea boss, winning nine of his 12 games in charge across all competitions.
Indeed, Chelsea as a team are unbeaten in 15 home games stretching back eight months, while they have kept clean sheets in their last three outings here at Stamford Bridge - a record which they will do well to keep today.
In the Premier League alone Chelsea are one of only three teams yet to taste a home defeat - alongside Liverpool and Man City, of course - but they have drawn three of their last five here and have not won back-to-back games since mid-September.
Sarri has also not lost two successive Premier League games - home or away - since October 2016, when his Napoli side were beaten by Atalanta and Roma in Serie A.
If any team can arrive at Stamford Bridge as decent favourites to win this match, it is this Man City side, who continue to affirm their status as one of the very best teams England football has ever produced.
However, the competition this season has been much more stubborn and Guardiola's side go into this game in the unfamiliar position of sitting second in the table. Liverpool sent out a statement with their win over Bournemouth earlier, and now it is up to City to respond.
Jurgen Klopp spoke for most when he admitted that this City side are unlikely to get flustered, though, and a victory - or even a draw - would be enough to take them back to the top of the pile this afternoon.
Guardiola's side have made the second-best start to a season in Premier League history - behind only last year's eventual centurions - having picked up 41 points from a possible 45 over their opening 15 games of the season, winning 13 and drawing two.
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It truly is a remarkable record, and today they could become only the fifth team in history - but the second today - to make it 16 games without defeat at the start of a Premier League season.
As mentioned, though, the major difference this time around has been the level of competition; this time last season City were eight points clear at the top of the table, but after 15 games their lead was only two points prior to today's earlier games.
City are now unbeaten in their last 21 league games stretching back to April, winning 18 of those including each of their last seven, during which time they have scored 24 goals and conceded just four.
The most recent of those came on Tuesday night, although it was not as emphatic a win as we are used to seeing from Guardiola's side as they survived a late scare to beat Watford 2-1 - albeit having dominated the vast majority of the match before the Hornets pulled a goal back.
Records seem to tumble almost every time City play at the moment, and they could make it 15 top-flight away games unbeaten for the first time in their history if they avoid defeat this afternoon, having matched their previous best tally at Vicarage Road in midweek.
All of their dropped points this season have come on the road, but any hope Chelsea might gain from that statistic should be counterbalanced by the fact that they have not been beaten on the road since January.
It is more than 16 years since the defending Premier League champions won at Stamford Bridge, though, with Manchester United the last to do so in April 2002 - Chelsea winning five and drawing six of 11 since.
However, this City side looks well equipped to break that duck and today could become the first non-London club to win seven successive top-flight matches in the capital. The only previous club to match their current run of six was Portsmouth from December 1950 to December 1951.
City also have a remarkable record in these big matches, earning 34 points from a possible 42 against other teams from the established top six since the start of last season.
Chelsea, for their part, have only managed half as many points, but they will be hoping that their home advantage gives them an extra edge in what is sure to be a very difficult match today.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Stamford Bridge, which means that it is time for a prediction!
This really is a difficult one to call. It is hard to back against Man City in any game at the moment, but they haven't been at their very best in the last three games whereas Chelsea are strong at home under Sarri. City, of course, have the ability to win this game, but we're going for a score draw.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Chelsea 2-2 Man City
Chelsea lost just two of their first 18 Premier League home games against Manchester City, but they have now lost two of their last three as well, including last season.
Former Chelsea player Kevin De Bruyne got the only goal of the game on that occasion, with City also going on to win 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium to complete the double over Antonio Conte's side.
Chelsea registered just seven shots against City across those two meetings - only Leicester vs. Man Utd and Huddersfield vs. Liverpool managed fewer against an opponent last season - and they have since fallen to a third straight defeat too.
Sergio Aguero scored twice for City in the Community Shield as Sarri lost his first game at the Chelsea helm, and the champions could now win four successive matches against the Blues for the first time in their history.
Victory for City today would also see them record back-to-back top-flight away wins over Chelsea for the first time since January 1955, and Chelsea have failed to even score a goal in their last three meetings.
Right, we're almost ready to get started now. Let's have a reminder of the team news as the players come out of the tunnel...
CHELSEA STARTING XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Pedro, Hazard
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Delph; Bernardo, Fernandinho, Silva; Mahrez, Sane, Sterling
KICKOFF: Here we go then! Manchester City get us underway for what should be a cracker!
A low-key start to this high-profile match as both sets of players look to settle themselves in this game. Defeat for either could prove really costly today.
City are seeing plenty of the ball in the opening exchanges, as Chelsea will have expected. Nothing to shout about at either end just yet, though.
We are used to seeing City make lightning quick starts to matches, but that has not been the case so far today. They clearly respect this Chelsea outfit.
CHANCE! City do create an early chance here as a low ball arrives into the box from the left flank which Sterling meets, but he does not get enough on his finish and Kepa makes a pretty comfortable save in the end.
It has been a decent, controlling start from City in this game. Just that one chance to speak of so far, but Chelsea are struggling to get into any rhythm themselves here.
Chelsea are having to work so hard just to keep the ball here. Man City are swarming all over them and what possession Chelsea have had so far has mostly come inside their own half.
Almost a chance for City here as Hazard is caught in possession inside his own half. Sane exchanges passes with Bernardo and David Silva before getting it back inside the box, but Luiz scrambles back to make a crucial challenge.
Well, it is not quite the thriller we hoped for so far. City are controlling possession and territory, but there has been minimal goalmouth action.
Chelsea just cannot get through the City lines at the moment. We're almost 20 minutes in and the hosts are yet to complete a single pass in the final third.
Still City knock the ball about amongst themselves comfortably, patiently probing for a way through. The visitors are not creating much, but they look a few levels above Chelsea at the moment.
Sterling wins a free kick on the right side of the area and swings his cross into the box, but it is just too high for Laporte.
Fernandinho has just had to have a little massage on his thigh on the sidelines. The Brazilian is clearly feeling that something is not quite right, but he will try to carry on here.
It just keeps coming back at Chelsea at the moment. They cannot keep hold of the ball and are all camped inside their own half. Hazard is an isolated figure when he is up front, but he is also dropping deeper to help out at the back too.
Almost half an hour gone in this match and, in truth, no much has happened. We've have just one shot of any note, and that was Sterling's early chance.
You can understand Sarri's decision to leave Morata and Giroud out of this one on form, but Chelsea really could do with a focal point up front to help hold the ball up. Hazard is struggling to carry out that job.
CHANCE! Man City come pouring forward down the left as Sane breaks into the box and shrugs Azpilicueta off. The angle is against the winger, though, and Kepa stops his effort before Bernardo's follow-up is blocked.
CHANCE! Another chance for Sane, but this time Azpilicueta does brilliantly to block it! Sterling beat Alonso far too easily on the right flank to dart inside before pulling the ball back to his fellow winger, whose effort was blocked.
The resulting corner is flicked on at the near post by Bernardo and takes a nick off Alonso on the way through too, but it flashes safely across the face of goal.
David Luiz tries to leave something on Sterling after winning the ball, but he comes off worse as Sterling caught him in the ribs with his knees. That one backfired for the Brazilian, and he only has himself to blame!
Luiz is only just getting to his feet again now after treatment, but it looks as though he will try to continue nonetheless.
Here is that Azpilicueta block to thwart Sane from one of the few chances we have seen so far today...
Stones gives the ball away inside the Man City half and Kante gives it to Jorginho, who in turn fizzes the ball in to Hazard. The Chelsea man tries to take it down, but fires a glare at Jorginho when Walker comes across to take the ball off him.
There has been so little for Chelsea to shout about in this first half so far. Hazard has really struggled in the lone striking role.
GOAL! CHELSEA 1-0 MANCHESTER CITY (N'GOLO KANTE)
GOAL! Would you believe it?! Just after I say that, Chelsea break the deadlock completely against the run of play!
A long ball forward from Luiz this time bears fruit as Pedro gives it out for Willian, whose first touch initially looks to have seen the chance go begging. They recycle it, though, and Hazard plays a low ball into the box which Kante meets with a thumping finish into the roof of the net!
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There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
HALF TIME: CHELSEA 1-0 MANCHESTER CITY
What an end to the first half for Chelsea!
The hosts were second best for pretty much all of that opening 45 minutes, yet they go in ahead courtesy of a sucker punch right on the stroke of half time. It wasn't the best half of football in truth, but Chelsea now have something to hang on to.
Kante was the unlikely scorer of the game's only goal so far, arriving late into the box to slam his finish into the roof of the net after a lovely cutback from Hazard.
Luiz's long ball forward had initially released Chelsea upfield before Pedro and Willian combined, but it was Hazard who provided the killer pass and Kante to finished it emphatically.
Up to that point, Chelsea had offered very little in the final third and it was City who had dominated the opening 45 minutes.
Clear chances were few and far between for the visitors despite their control over the game, though, with Sterling squandering the best of them early on and Sane also being denied.
Guardiola will know that his side have been the better team, but all that ultimately matters is the result and as things stand they are heading for a first defeat of the season.
I would expect more of a cutting edge from the visitors in the second half, but they have work to do against an organised Chelsea side in the coming 45 minutes.
KICKOFF: Chelsea get us back underway for the second half!
Bright start from Chelsea as Willian cuts inside before being hacked down by Fernandinho. Free kick in a very good position...
SAVE! Willian takes on the free kick duties himself, but Ederson gets across to keep his effort out. It looks like a fine save on first glance, although he made it look a little more difficult than it perhaps should have been. The rebound falls for Pedro, but he fires over from an offside position.
Suddenly it is all Chelsea now! Kante is again involved down the right flank and plays a low ball into the box which is cleared away before Hazard can make anything of it.
CHANCE! Chelsea come pouring forward again and suddenly Kante is looking like David Silva! He drives forward with the ball at his feet before playing it out wide for Willian, who tries to pick out the bottom corner but doesn't get the power on it and Ederson makes the save.
MAN CITY SUB: Guardiola has seen enough here - time for a change. On comes Gabriel Jesus in place of Sane.
Better from City again in the last couple of minutes as they begin to see more of the ball inside the Chelsea half again. They are good enough to punish Chelsea if they take their foot off the pedal at any moment in this match.
SAVE! Hazard is penalised for a handball in a dangerous position and Walker fires the resultant free kick over the wall, forcing a save from Kepa.
Man City had only been behind for 12 minutes in total this season before today, but they have more than doubled that tally now. Chelsea are doing very well.
Despite the way the first half ended, City looked a class apart for much of the first half. Now, though, it is a much more even game and it is developing into a really good contest here.
SAVE! Sterling tries his luck, but Kepa sees it all the way and makes a routine stop.
SAVE! This time it is Ederson who makes a routine stop, collecting Pedro's rather tame effort comfortably. That was a decent shooting chance for the Spaniard, but he just didn't catch it.
YELLOW CARD! Jorginho picks up the first yellow card of the night for a challenge on Mahrez.
CHELSEA SUB: Kovacic is unable to continue here as he limps off to be replaced by Ross Barkley.
Concern for City here as Silva goes down off the ball and signals that he will not be able to continue here. Another blow for City.
MAN CITY SUB: Silva limps off to be replaced by Ilkay Gundogan. It doesn't seem to be too serious, but he is unable to carry on.
Fernandinho clips a ball over to Jesus, who is offside but the flag stays down. He then skips past Azpilicueta before running the ball out of play, but the referee points for a corner! Nothing comes of it, but there were a couple of errors in quick succession there from the officials.
Less than 20 minutes remaining for Chelsea to hold out here! This would give them an injection of hope in the title race, but more importantly in the immediate future it would lift them back into the top four.
Sterling is onto a poor touch from Kante as quick as a flash and for a moment it looks like he is in on goal, but Kante somehow recovers to win it back. Nervy moment for the goalscorer.
CHELSEA SUB: Another Chelsea change here as Ruben Loftus-Cheek replaces Willian.
SHOT! Barkley creates a yard of space just outside the area and tries to sneak away a shot which goes wide of the target, but it takes a deflection on the way behind.
GOAL! CHELSEA 2-0 MANCHESTER CITY (DAVID LUIZ)
GOAL! Incredible scenes at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea double their advantage and surely wrap up all three points here!
Luiz arrives late in the box and drifts towards the near post to meet a corner with a looping header which clips the underside of the crossbar on its way into the far corner!
Just 10 minutes remaining in this match now and City are left needing a remarkable comeback to get themselves back into this and avoid a first defeat of the season. If anyone can, they can, but it is a very long way back now!
A reminder that, as things stand, Liverpool will top the pile at the end of this weekend. City were so much the better team in the first half of this match, but Chelsea have shown that Guardiola's side are not invincible so far today.
MAN CITY SUB: Final change for Man City here as Phil Foden replaces Mahrez.
CHANCE! Chance for Chelsea to add a third here as Barkley meets a cross from the right ahead of Bernardo, but he steers his header wide of the target when he should have done better!
Here is that David Luiz goal...
SHOT! The ball falls kindly for Fernandinho on the volley and he strikes it well, but sends it flashing wide of the target.
CHELSEA SUB: Late change for the hosts here as Olivier Giroud replaces Hazard.
There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.
CHANCE! Kepa gives the ball away carelessly in a dangerous position, but he redeems himself by keeping out Bernardo's effort at full stretch.
FULL TIME: CHELSEA 2-0 MANCHESTER CITY
Stamford Bridge erupts at the final whistle as Chelsea become the first team to beat Manchester City this season, lifting themselves up to third and leaving Liverpool top of the table in the process.
The hosts had to hang on for much of the first half, but Kante's goal right on the stroke of half time changed the game and Luiz's header 12 minutes from the end sealed a huge three points for Chelsea. The title race is blown wide open!
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Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's match as Chelsea end Man City's unbeaten start with a memorable win at Stamford Bridge. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
We also have live coverage of the final game in this bumper day of Premier League action for you, and you can follow every twist and turn of Leicester vs. Tottenham by clicking here.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
