Manchester City will be without the services of England right back Micah Richards for the match against Chelsea.
This is a crucial encounter given that Manchester city have been undefeated so far this season. However, Chelsea have a good record against Manchester City at Stamford bridge, and they will be looking to close the gap on the League leaders. Manchester City currently lead the Londoners by a massive 10 points, which could increase to 13 points should City to repeat the 4-2 win they achieved a few seasons ago.
However, this victory stands alone amidst a number of defeats for Manchester City, and Chelsea will certainly be confident about getting a victory in this match. Micah Richards has been one of the influential figures for Manchester city at the right back position this season, although he has not been selected for England on a frequent basis. His injury will mean that manager Roberto Mancini is likely to resort to using Argentinian defender Pablo Zabaleta in his place. This is certainly going to be a weakness Chelsea can exploit given the way Micah Richards has been performing this season.
His performances have been so exceptional that he has managed to keep out Pablo Zabaleta, who was the first team player before the arrival of Micah Richards as a regular member of the first-team squad. Manchester City were defeated in the last season match against Chelsea at Stamford bridge, although it took two late goals from David Luiz and Ramires to seal the points for the Londoners. Many predicted that it is going to be extremely tough for Chelsea to repeat the success this time around given that Manchester city have come out of the blocks in flying fashion. Many regard them to be the next Invincibles after Arsenal.
