Manchester City vs. Chelsea: Starting XIs, Team News for Premier League Fixture

Manchester City will be hoping to pull five points clear of title rivals Chelsea when the two square off at the Etihad Stadium in a titanic Week 2 encounter.

For City boss Manuel Pellegrini it’s a wonderful chance to steal a march on the reigning champions. Here is the XI named to get the job done, per the club’s official Twitter feed:

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will be acutely aware of just how important this match is for his side and has named a powerful team to take to the field, per Chelsea’s account:

Although there will be 36 games remaining in the season after this game has concluded, this represents a brilliant chance for City to land one on their title rivals. To pull out a five-point gap at such an early stage would be a major boost to everyone at the club.

But Mourinho is a savvy operator, so you can bet he’ll have a plan on how to cope with City’s attacking riches and build a sturdy platform upon which his own side are capable of getting a result.