The clash between England’s two most recent UEFA Champions League winners – and London and Manchester’s last domestic champions – has often carried extra weight. So it is this weekend, with Chelsea Under-21s head coach Calum McFarlane leading the senior team for this game, against his former employers at academy level.

The title-chasing Cityzens had won each of their last six before a stalemate at Sunderland on New Year’s Day. Chelsea’s frustration at points lost at home continued with a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday but we remain fifth, well positioned to claim a Champions League ticket.

Unusually the Blues have finished our league dealings with the Cherries before playing Pep Guardiola’s men even once.

Now the Blues’ new year resolution must be to start 2026 with a first win against the Mancunians since that glorious night in Porto back in 2021, when we beat them in the Champions League final.

Team news

Moises Caicedo received a fifth caution of the season in the Premier League against Bournemouth and is suspended.

Elsewhere, McFarlane was hopeful on the chances of Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella being fit to feature from the start at Man City, when he took on pre-match press conference duties after his first training session with the squad on Friday.

'Cole’s ready to go,' he said. 'I don’t know for sure, but he was in a really good place in training, so we’ll see how the next couple of days look.

‘With Marc it is positive [that he’s back training] and we will see with him. We’re undecided on that [whether he will play], I don’t have the full information on him as of yet.'

The history

Chelsea have not tasted victory at the Etihad Stadium since fighting back to win 2-1 behind closed doors in May 2021.

City led through Raheem Sterling, but Edouard Mendy easily gathered Sergio Aguero’s attempted Panenka penalty to switch the momentum. A quarter-hour later, Hakim Ziyech drilled in an equaliser for the Londoners, before a fine late move ended with Marcos Alonso’s fortunate winner, meaning the title-winners’ staging remained in the stands for another week.

Just three weeks later, Thomas Tuchel’s team notched a far more famous victory over Pep Guardiola’s men in the Champions League final, moved from Istanbul to Porto because of Covid protocols. Kai Havertz scored the only goal in a showpiece the Londoners dominated, and that is the last time Chelsea have prevailed in this meet-up, home or away in any competition.

The two met for the first time in Division One in April 1908, Cityzens full-back Bert Jackson conceding an early own goal. Two in 10 minutes after the break from Percy Humphreys and Fred Rouse sealed a 3-0 win for the visitors.

In early May 1984, one of the most high-profile encounters was a rare Division Two game live on TV from Maine Road on a Friday evening. Chelsea were already promoted and the 2-0 win, with second-half goals from Pat Nevin and Kerry Dixon, left City with no chance of joining them.

In April 1994, 10 years later, the Londoners were the last visitors to play in front of the condemned Popular Side, better known as the Kippax. Home fans lingered after the final whistle, not to savour a 2-2 draw in which Robert Fleck netted his last Blues goal and Tony Cascarino quickly added a second before the hosts twice replied, but to chisel mementos off the terrace concrete.

A 1-0 loss there in October 2004 - future Blue Nicolas Anelka with the 11th-minute penalty - proved to be all that deprived Jose Mourinho’s back-to-back champions of ‘unbeatables’ status.

In February 2014, during Mourinho’s second coming, we won 1-0 at the Etihad thanks to Branislav Ivanovic, and in December 2016 Antonio Conte’s soon-to-be champions earned a vital 3-1 victory.

A Gary Cahill own goal set the visitors back, but a thrilling fight-back led to three great strikes in the last half-hour from Diego Costa, Willian and Eden Hazard. to turn the game on its head. That is also the last time Chelsea doubled City home and away.

Know this...

At the halfway point of the Premier League campaign, Chelsea were placed fifth with 30 points (five fewer than last season at the same stage), with one draw more and the same for losses, six fewer goals for and two fewer against.

The Blues have drawn both our last two away league games, at Bournemouth and Newcastle United, and secured four clean sheets from the past six on the road.

The Mancunians have opened the scoring in 15 of their 19 matches this season, but have lost all three when an opponent broke the deadlock.

The Londoners’ starting XI against Bournemouth averaged 23 years and 157 days, the youngest in a Premier League match this season.

Chelsea have claimed the lion’s share of possession in 18 of our 19 top-flight matches to date - the exception being the draw with Arsenal with 10 men.

City have won their last five Premier League home games by scoring three or more goals.