Manchester City saw their woeful Champions League campaign draw to a close with elimination at the hands of Real Madrid.
For a team that looked so disorganized and unprepared in European competition, it is rather surprising the Man City currently leads the EPL. It is equally surprising to realize that they remain the only team in the league that has not registered a loss in 12 matches. Their greatest rivals Manchester United have already lost three matches. The team looked revived last weekend when they took down Ashton Villa 5-0 at home and despite drawing 1-1 to Real Madrid, the team did a decent job at a few moments in that match. This match against Chelsea will be huge as both sides are in a three way dog fight with Man U for first place in the EPL. A win for City would open up more distant with Chelsea and minimize the number of contenders to just two as the season begins its second third.
Chelsea has been on a downward spiral for almost a month now. A loss to Manchester United on October 28 was followed by two draws and a loss in EPL. They salvaged one victory in UCL play, but their most recent 3-0 loss to Juventus not only threw them into third place in the group standings but cost coach Roberto Di Matteo his job. New coach Rafael Benitez will be handed the reigns as interim boss and he must not only get this team back on track but do so quickly as other teams including Everton, Arsenal, and West Brom are gaining on Chelsea in the standings. Fernando Torres has looked horrific of late and a great deal of pundits are questioning whether Benitez can get him back to the form he exhibited early in the season. Chelsea needs this game terribly. A win puts them one point behind Man City and potentially a few behind Man U. A draw or loss could further their descent in the standings.
Prediction: A new coach and a match against a hated foe in front of their home fans should propel Chelsea. 2-1 win.
Start Time: 11 AM EST