Manchester City vs. Chelsea: How City Should Line Up in Premier League Game

It seems strange to be talking about crucial matches so early in the season, but the prospect of falling eight points behind Chelsea makes Manchester City’s match with the west London side Sunday vitally important.

Chelsea's impressive transfer window, which saw them bring in Cesc Fabregas, Filipe Luis and Diego Costa, as well as recall Thibaut Courtois from his loan at Atletico Madrid, has seen them revitalise their squad, and they now look like serious title contenders.

Jose Mourinho masterminded a victory at the Etihad in the league fixture last season, tactically outwitting Manuel Pellegrini and temporarily knocking City out of form after a wonderful two-month unbeaten period. City did, however, recover and went on to win the title in glorious circumstances.

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So what will Pellegrini do to avoid a repeat of last season's defeat?

After question marks about his position in the side in the aftermath of his clanger against Stoke City recently, Joe Hart kept his place. Pellegrini’s faith was repaid this week when the England man gave a wonderful display in Munich against Bayern, producing a series of world-class saves to almost secure City a point.

A couple of hairy moments aside, it was the first truly world-class performance Hart has put in since City played Borussia Dortmund in 2012, and he will be hoping it's the catalyst for more consistent form.

He will almost certainly start in goal against Chelsea, with Vincent Kompany and Martin Demichelis, both of whom were outstanding in Bavaria, too, set to play in front of him once again. Eliaquim Mangala, it seems, will have to wait to make his debut given the form of Demichelis.

Pablo Zabaleta, who was suspended for the midweek Champions League game, will return at right-back, despite an excellent defensive display from Bacary Sagna, leaving Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov to fight it out for the one remaining place in the back four. Clichy appears to have reasserted his dominance over Kolarov, but Pellegrini is well-known for rotating his full-backs heavily, and Clichy therefore may find himself rested.

With Fernando still out injured, City’s midfield with have a familiar look, with Fernandinho and Yaya Toure together again in the centre. Toure was fiercely criticised in certain quarters after a less-than-impressive display in Munich, and Pellegrini needs him back to his best for the game. Fernandinho, though, was outstanding, arguably City's Man of the Match, and after a difficult World Cup, it would seem he is back to his best.

Samir Nasri was out of sorts against Bayern and came off early, but he is likely to return to the starting line-up on the left, with David Silva set to continue in the No. 10 role that suits him so well. That leaves Jesus Navas and James Milner competing for a starting berth on the right, but with the Spaniard having started twice already this week, it may well be Milner who gets the nod.

Sergio Aguero will start up front as a lone striker, and after his rest on Wednesday he will be key to City’s success. Edin Dzeko, who suffered a slight back problem, may have to settle for a place on the bench. If Pellegrini does decide to play Dzeko and go with a two-man strike force, Silva will move to the left, with Nasri switching to the right.

Predicted XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy; Fernandinho, Toure; Milner, Nasri; Silva; Aguero

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Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard.