Chelsea, Man City in title showdown

The Blues suffer blow before crucial match as Costa gets three-match ban.

LONDON: Scarred in different, yet eerily similar, ways by their recent cup exploits, Chelsea and Manchester City face off at the Stamford Bridge today for a pivotal match in the Premier League title race.

Both teams were dumped out of the FA Cup by lower-league opposition last weekend, but while Chelsea responded by beating Liverpool in the League Cup semi-finals on Tuesday, victory came at a price.

Diego Costa has been banned for three matches with immediate effect after being found guilty for stamping on Liverpool’s Emre Can, and will miss City’s visit, while Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis are both doubts for the game after picking up injuries.

Jose Mourinho’s side can expect little sympathy from City, the defending champions, who will fall eight points off the pace if they lose.

But the Chelsea manager is already looking to turn the situation to his advantage, battening down the hatches and creating the kind of siege mentality that is his favoured modus operandi.

As well as Costa’s charge, Mourinho was himself fined by the Football Association for alleging that there was a media-led ‘campaign’ against his side following a spate of diving allegations.

The Portuguese hit out at the media again after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Liverpool and responded to news of the disciplinary action facing Costa by cancelling his scheduled press conference on Friday.

The extra-time win over Liverpool has left its mark on Mourinho’s squad, but he believes the league leaders will not be encumbered by fatigue when they take to the pitch against City. “The players are tired, but when you win, fatigue doesn’t mean the same as when you lose,” he said.

A run of eight wins in nine games left City dead-level with Chelsea on New Year’s Day, but a draw at Everton and a 2-0 home defeat by Arsenal have seen Manuel Pellegrini’s team fall five points off the pace.

Coupled with last weekend’s 2-0 defeat by second-tier Middlesbrough, they have now gone three games without a win in all competitions.

“We must turn our minds to the Premier League,” said Pellegrini. “We have a difficult game against Chelsea. I hope we can recover during the week and get back to normal.”

Ivory Coast’s qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals means City remain without Yaya Toure and new signing Wilfried Bony, but Sergio Aguero has proven his fitness following a knee injury by coming through 90 minutes against Arsenal and Middlesbrough.

Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, who scored an 85th-minute equaliser for City when the teams last met in September, could be making his final appearance at Stamford Bridge.

The sight of Chelsea’s all-time record goal-scorer in a City shirt will jar with the London club’s supporters, particularly as he had previously pledged that he would never play for a rival club.

But the 36-year-old was applauded by the visiting fans after refusing to celebrate his goal in the reverse fixture and Chelsea Supporters’ Trust chair Tim Rolls told Britain’s Press Association: “I don’t think anybody is going to boo him.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2015.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.