Premier League heavyweights Manchester City and Chelsea set for clash of the day

Manchester City host Chelsea in the Premier League tomorrow in a game that could, in time, prove hugely influential in just where the top flight crown goes at the conclusion of the season.

Pep Guardiola’s City come up against Antonio Conti’s Blues in a keenly anticipated contest at the Etihad Stadium with both teams in excellent form ahead of the lunchtime showdown.

City sit just one point behind table-toppers Chelsea with Arsenal, who face West Ham at the London Stadium tomorrow tea time, and Liverpool — at Bournemouth on Sunday — making up the top four.

The game is being billed as Sergio Aguero v. Diego Costa and both strikers enter the fray with goals galore of which to boast. Both stars have netted 10 times this season and Argentinian forward Aguero grabbed a brace last Saturday as City came from behind to claim a hard-fought victory at Burnley.

For City, the influential Vincent Kompany remains an absentee with a knee injury, while both Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph could come back into the reckoning. Young defender John Stones and midfielder Ilkay Gundogan could come back into Guardiola’s squad after missing out against the Clarets.

Stamford Bridge boss Conte will have no selection headaches ahead of the clash given that his in-form outfit have turned in a run of dazzling displays that have thrust them to the top of the pile.

Conte will surely name the starting line-up for the seventh game on the bounce, his plans hampered only by the fact that skipper John Terry is missing through injury while Jon Obi Mikel looks set to be missing through injury, too.

Former Italy boss Conte expects a challenging fixture.

He said:

“It will be a tough game, a great test for us for our formation. We know it won’t be easy, we face a really great team. We want to show we are working very well and growing and another step to show if something is changing from the start of the season.”