Manchester City vs. Chelsea: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info

Chelsea will face their second major test in the Premier League in as many weeks on Saturday, as the Blues visit the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City.

The Citizens sit third in the standings, just a single point behind the leaders, and entered the season as favourites for the title.

Chelsea weren't expected to contend this early under manager Antonio Conte, but the west Londoners have defied all expectations and continued their winning run last week against Tottenham Hotspur.

Here's everything you need to know about Saturday's clash.

Date: Saturday, December 3

Time: 12:30 p.m. BST

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester

TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK), NBCSN (U.S.)

Live Stream: Sky Go, NBC Live Extra

Team News

Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

As reported by Vaishali Bhardwaj of the London Evening Standard, Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph are both working on their returns for City, while Vincent Kompany will miss the match due to injury. John Stones is expected to return in time.

For Chelsea, John Terry and Mikel John Obi are both expected to miss out on the trip to Manchester with muscular injuries.

Expected City XI: Claudio Bravo, Bacary Sagna, John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi, Aleksandar Kolarov, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Nolito, Sergio Aguero

Expected Chelsea XI: Thibaut Courtois, Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Victor Moses, N'Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic, Marcos Alonso, Pedro, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa

Preview

Chelsea enter Saturday's contest on a seven-match win streak dating back to September and the 3-0 loss against Arsenal.

Following that clash, Conte opted to switch to a 3-4-3 formation, and the Blues haven't looked the same since, making incredible defensive improvements and freeing up Eden Hazard in the attacking third.

In light of their strong run, City manager Pep Guardiola believes the visitors are the favourites, per James Robson of the Manchester Evening News: “We are going to play against the best team right now in the Premier League for the last five or six weeks. They play amazing, just clean sheets. The way they play, we are going to try to discover his secret what we can do to beat them.”

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

In many ways, Conte has started his Premier League campaign the way people thought Guardiola would. The Italian appeared to inherit a far inferior team after all, one that failed to qualify for a European competition during the 2015-16 campaign.

The battle between the coaches has taken up most of the headlines ahead of the clash, and for good reason. While Conte is a firm believer in his current system, his opponent tends to shift formations and systems all the time, and it's almost impossible to predict what he'll come up with for Saturday.

Writing for the Daily Mirror, former footballer Stan Collymore said the Italian might have the edge in signing new players due to his great early showings:

"

On Saturday, it could just as easily be Guardiola who comes out on top as Conte when their two teams clash.

But while the City boss might win the battle, it doesn’t automatically mean he will win the war.

In terms of knowing their squad and getting to grips with the Premier League, it is the Italian who is ahead of the curve.

Which is why I would be jumping at the chance to play for him if he and Guardiola were both trying to sign me.

"

On the pitch, the Chelsea duo of N'Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic need to find a way to slow down Kevin De Bruyne and limit his influence in the attacking third. The Belgian has been of huge importance to City―without De Bruyne running the show, Sergio Aguero becomes a lot less effective up top.

On the other side of the pitch, expect Diego Costa to use his physicality against a defence that hasn't been nearly as dominant as expected. Both Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones are prone to the odd mistake, which simply can't happen against Chelsea.

Final prediction: City 1-1 Chelsea