Manchester City-Chelsea: Gut Check Time for City

So much for FA Cup glory in Manchester. 

As well, less than a month ago the Blues saw their trip to Wembley to face Aston Villa in the Carling Cup Final thwarted by Wayne Rooney in injury time. 

Now, all that's left for City to avoid complete humiliation is the dream to play for European eminence in the Champions League next season. Even that aspiration appears a bit far-fetched at this time. 

When manager Roberto Mancini took the reins of the club in mid-December, the Italian provided plenty of inspiration for the City faithful to believe in. City won five of seven EPL matches and three consecutive Cup games. 

Since then, City's drawn twice in two lifeless league matches, been knocked out of the FA Cup by a spunky and optimistic Stoke side, and been eliminated from Carling Cup contention by rivals Manchester United. Mancini's alleged arsenal of scoring options has produced only four goals in four games, none of which resulted in a win. 

With a trip to Stamford Bridge on the horizon, City's fate seems bleak against the London giants atop the table.

But as unpredictable as City's pitch play has been all season, the 2-1 victory at Eastlands on Dec. 5 has been the pinnacle point to a turbulent campaign. Besides Chelsea, City's also beaten United and Arsenal at home already.

Victories against the top clubs haven't been an issue, but EPL wins on the road have. In 13 away matches, City's secured only three wins outside of Eastlands. The most recent was nearly two months ago in December at Wolverhampton, 3-0. 

But despite recent road struggles in losses to lesser quality clubs (Stoke and Hull City), City's well aware of its current fourth-place position in the league table and what it will take to maintain or improve upon it. As of now, City and Tottenham are tied for the final Champions League spot, albeit City's played one fewer match. 

In the players' minds, the only thing left for them do to is stay poised and confident that the team's play will pay off in tremendous dividends by the end of the season—especially City's Togolese striker, who's undaunted by the thought of not competing for a European Cup next year.

"We are well-placed and looking forward to going to Chelsea at the weekend," striker Emmanuel Adebayor told the MCFC website. "We've already beaten them once this season, and while it will be a big test for us and won't be easy, we are not afraid."

Adebayor's fearlessness heading into Chelsea is exactly what City needs. City must impose a more attacking nature and avoid playing as defensively and conservatively as it had been over the last few weeks. Even in City's last league win against Bolton, 2-0, on Feb. 9, the Blues did very little to dazzle fans or the visiting Wanderers. 

In City's most recent league match against Liverpool, the hosts could only muster up five shots in an inanimate 0-0 draw, with only one of City's handful of shots providing the visiting Reds with a brief scare.

The draw, if anything, proved that neither club would take an aggressive chance towards pressing for the desired three points and instead remained completely content with a single point and minimal movement in the league table.

But that's not the mindset a champion should have. A champion plays down to no one. A champion pushes on, regardless of the opposition or location. 

That's the difference between Man City and the EPL's best. City plays down to its adversary or slows down its pace against top-tier clubs. It needs to have the same collective attitude as Adebayor. This time, it needs to be seen not through words in a press conference but actions on the pitch. 

What better way to do that than to beat England's best on its own home turf?

Chelsea's coming off a 2-1 Champions League road loss to Inter Milan where keeper Petr Cech suffered a torn calf muscle, sidelining him for a month. But even with backup keeper Henrique Hilario between the pipes, the Blues have an untarnished home record thus far. In 12 matches Chelsea's prevailed in all but one, a thrilling 3-3 draw to Everton in December. 

Hilario has seen action in two EPL matches thus far, one resulting in a 3-1 loss against Wigan when he came off the bench in the 51st minute following a Cech red card, and one home start against Liverpool in a 2-0 victory. 

While Chelsea swaps one keeper for another, City returns one coveted striker to the lineup. Carlos Tevez, who's been on compassionate leave to Argentina for family reasons, hasn't seen action since his penalty score against Bolton over two weeks ago. But Mancini confirmed Tevez, who's tied for fifth in EPL goals with 13, will return Thursday or Friday for Saturday's clash with the Blues. 

But the return of one player certainly won't elevate an entire team's play. City has been searching for a steady starting XI, and now with most players recovered from injury, Mancini needs to find the right player combinations to solidify a fourth-place finish. After all, with Jose Mourinho rumors circulating, Mancini's fate as City boss depends on it. 

If history says anything about the upcoming trip to London, Stamford Bridge is certainly one stadium that City hasn't fared well in. City hasn't beaten the Blues at the Bridge since 1993 and hasn't scored a goal there in a decade. But statistics aside, City believes there's no reason why a result isn't completely out of reach. 

"People need to remember that the City of today is different from the City of a few years back," Vincent Kompany told City's website. "It's a big game for both clubs, and it's a measure of our progress that we are considered one of the few clubs who can go to Stamford Bridge and be a danger to Chelsea.

"Not much is going our way at the moment, but we're among the leading clubs on merit and that is the result of hard work, and I'm sure we'll get the breaks we deserve in the coming weeks and months."

After the trip to London, City heads to Sunderland and Fulham before returning home for Wigan: three games that City should expect no less than three points as a result in each match.

But first is Chelsea—a match where City must prove it's no longer a pretender; rather, a contender.