The trip north will be the last away game in this league in 2020 and the last of three consecutive games in the North-West for Andy Myers' men. Here we preview the action.

How to watch and kick-off time

We will have live coverage of the game for free on the 5th Stand app and this website. Kick-off is at 1pm and there will also be updates via our official @Chelseafc Twitter account with a report on the app and website following the final whistle.

Our form

We’ve endured a tough couple of results in PL2, suffering back-to-back defeats on Merseyside in our most recent outings. The team were in Bristol on Wednesday night to face Bristol Rovers in the EFL Trophy, but after fighting from behind to pull level on two occasions, a third proved one time too many as the clock ran out after the hosts scored a last-minute winner to clinch a spot in the knockout stage, with the final score 4-3.

Chelsea team news

In Frank Lampard’s pre-match press conference on Thursday he confirmed Billy Gilmour will continue his return from injury with the development squad, playing some part in the game at Man City this afternoon. PL2 regulars Henry Lawrence, Dynel Simeu and Tino Livramento are also expected to make the trip north.

The opposition

There have been three wins and two defeats for City in their last five results. Defeat at Blackburn Rovers was followed up by three consecutive wins; firstly a last-minute penalty earned a narrow away win at Everton before back-to-back home wins over Leicester and Arsenal, with City scoring four on both occasions.

The most recent PL2 game for City was a seven-goal thriller at Southampton and it was the hosts who came out on top. There were four goals for Southampton after an hour and with City yet to reply the game was in the hands of the hosts. A late Morgan Rogers double proved only a consolation for City as Dan Nlundulu completed his hat-trick after 77 minutes, wrapping up the points.

Last season Man City finished eighth in PL2 17 points adrift of our youngsters who were crowed champions.

Lampard hails Gilmour’s potential and confirms involvement in PL2 this weekend

From the dressing room

There were two goals for Tino Anjorin during the week’s fixture at Bristol Rovers. It was just his third start in all competitions this season and the 18-year-old is delighted to be back playing after recovering from an injury picked up at the tail end of last term.

‘It’s great to be back. The only thing you want to do as a footballer is to be out there playing, being away for so long is always hard to take because you miss it,’ he told to the official Chelsea website. 'You want to be out there helping your team-mates win games and I’m just grateful to be back involved and getting back to full fitness again.'

Our development squad have suffered back-to-back defeats in PL2 at the hands of Liverpool and most recently Everton.

Anjorin admits the side are going through a dip in form at the moment but shares the thoughts of the team in believing it will come to an end as a result of the work they have been putting in at Cobham.

‘We are always confident in our ability and know what we are capable of as a team. We are going through a rough patch at the moment with a couple of defeats but we approach today’s game believing it is the day we change that,’ he said ahead of the trip north.

‘We’ve been working hard in training and in the gym in preparation to perform better this time out against City who always pose strong opposition.’

Having recently returned to Cobham from international duty at England Under-20 level, the midfielder was pleased to have shared the experience with some familiar faces from the club.

‘It’s always an amazing experience representing your country, it’s a special feeling. I haven’t been involved for quite a while now but it was nice to have some familiar faces from Chelsea with me,’ Anjorin expressed. ‘To have Marcel at England was good, it was his first time being away with the national team and to help him become part of the squad and show him what it’s all about was nice.’

Billy Gilmour started his return to full fitness on Wednesday night in Bristol and Anjorin is pleased to see him back involved.

‘We all know what Billy is capable of, his talent is a great asset to the team and he is a good guy as well,' he added. 'We are all happy to have him back around - his personality fits right in. He will always lift the team and encourage everyone to play with confidence.’

Last meeting

We last met City in PL2 back in January of this year and fought off late pressure from the visitors to record a 2-1 win at Aldershot. Tariq Uwakwe opened the scoring after 12 minutes and an own-goal stretched our lead shortly after an hour. Morgan Rogers netted for City after 72 minutes but Myers’ men held on for the all-important points.

Live coverage of the PL2 game in Manchester this afternoon is available on the 5th Stand or this website for free. Kick-off is at 1pm and we will have updates and team news on our official @Chelseafc Twitter.