Prediction: Chelsea vs Manchester City

Having restored a five-point lead at the Premiership summit while qualifying for the League Cup final, Chelsea go into the potential title decider high on confidence, knowing that even a draw would put them in a good position to eventually secure the league trophy. Meanwhile, this is a must-win game for Manchester City as home losses to Arsenal and Middlesbrough seriously threaten to turn the season into a major disappointment.

Chelsea hit the ground running early on this term, quickly creating a decent advantage at the top of the standings and many believed not even holders Manchester City would be able to challenge the Blues for the Premiership title. A couple of poor results at the turn of the year saw a five-point gap evaporate, but Jose Mourinho’s charges have since done well to take advantage of two unexpected slip-ups of their title rivals. Meanwhile, a hard-fought win over Liverpool proved enough to secure progress into the Capital One Cup final, where they will fight local rivals Spurs for the coveted trophy. Chelsea did well to make amends for the shocking FA Cup exit at the hands of Bradford, but with the team not exactly on top of their game at the moment, chances are that Jose Mourinho will adopt a cautious approach against City, especially given that it is the visitors who are in desperate need of maximum points. The Portuguese manager faces a genuine selection headache given that Cesc Fabregas (hamstring), Branislav Ivanovic (foot) and Filipe Luis (calf) all face fitness tests, while star striker Diego Costa was handed a three-match ban for a stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can.

After winning the Premier League trophy last season, Manchester City only needed to make a couple of signings to ensure they remain the number one candidates this term, but they appear to have failed to address the main issues. Finding a perfect defensive partner for captain Vincent Kompany was obviously the priority and while the Citizens eventually splashed out some £32 million on the Frenchman, he was in turn just as disappointing as the calamitous Martin Demichelis. And with key midfielder Yaya Toure largely struggling for form, it is hardly surprising that Manchester City have failed to live up to the billing and their worries do not seem to be over just yet. Back to back defeats to Arsenal and Middlesbrough at their Etihad not only served as major confidence blows, but also placed an extra pressure on the team ahead of the crunch tie against Chelsea, which the Citizens cannot afford to lose. Manuel Pellegrini was probably far from happy to see Ivory Coast make it to the 2015 AFCON quarter-finals as that means Yaya Toure will not be returning to the side, while Samir Nasri is another important player that has been ruled out.

Conclusion

Knowing Jose Mourinho, Chelsea will be perfectly happy to play a waiting game without taking too many risks, hoping they will eventually frustrate City enough to start leaving the gaps behind their back line. And with the visitors largely struggling in the build up play at the moment, a low-scoring match appears on the cards.

Verdict: Under 2.5 goals

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker: William Hill