Chelsea vs Manchester City preview

Manchester City head to Stamford Bridge this Sunday hoping to emulate the thumping win they inflicted on Chelsea last season. City's injury problems are easing off, with James Milner returning to the side and Adam Johnson seemingly days away from playing having returned to training, whilst Chelsea welcomed back Yossi Benayoun and defender Alex in training this week.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that Fernando Torres, Michael Essien and Florent Malouda, all benched in the midweek 0-0 draw against FC Copenhagen, will start on Sunday. Ancelotti will be encouraged by better performances from Chelsea in recent weeks, including the 2-1 victory over Manchester United and the progression to the Champions League quarter final, and he will hope 50m signing Fernando Torres can finally score in a blue shirt.

"It's important we win to clarify our position in the table", said Ancelotti. "At the moment, our position is not so clear. After this game, it'll be clear what we're going to do in the Premier League."

Roberto Mancini's City men sit two points clear of Chelsea in the table and would like to cement their place in the top 4 with victory over the reigning champions. Mancini is somewhat of a nemesis for Ancelotti; City have won their last three games against Chelsea, continuing his good record against Ancelotti from when the pair were at AC and Inter respectively.

Whether Mancini adopts his familiar tactic against the bigger teams of playing for a 0-0, or goes with the slightly more adventurous style he used in the loss away at Manchester United, is a decision that comes after City's exit from the Europe League to Dynamo Kiev, leaving them with only the Premier League to fight for.

Mario Balotelli is likely to be dropped from the City side following his petulant red card in the Europa League and David Luiz is expected back in the Chelsea side after being cup-tied against Copenhagen.

Whether both sides still stand a realistic chance of winning the title is arguable but neither team will want to lose points in the crucial run up to the end of the season. The extra days' rest that Chelsea have before the game may prove decisive.

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