Man City vs Chelsea

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Man City vs Chelsea

25 September 2010, 1245 KO - EPL, Eastlands

MATCH CHAT HERE

[Laylabelle 9,292]

Not a repeat of last year!!!!

Gana be tough..1-1 I think.Play like we did in the second half we could have problems...play like we did in the first however.Keep pressure etc.No injuries mid week...

Prove we can do this and shut the whole 'they havent played anyone blah blah' people up

[DYC. 7,542]

Ahh the real test.

This game will show how good we really are.

:cfc:

[Term-X 7,891]

This is the game when we can finally judge this team, because we've had an easy run compared to our rivals. The teams quality will finally be put to the test, it should be an interesting game.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Have we really had 'an easy run' though? Everyone has to play the same fixtures, and you have to appreciate that in the corresponding games last season (1-1 with West Ham and 1-3 at Wigan) we dropped five points - meaning we've done very, very well.

[Laylabelle 9,292]

I dont think we have really thats why its so annoying.We havent been playing random teams that have never been in the league before.And no team is easy really.These are the dodgy teams that can cost you as well.Mean like you said we lost to Wigan last season..drew against West Ham so to win there this season pretty good.Espically against Wigan where we havent played that great for a few seasons now

Blackpool have been on a good start and had they started the first half like the second been a tougher game and no doubt a differnt score line

And really..we loose to City.Doesnt mean we're crap and have no chance in the league.We lost to them twice last season.Yeh mean less bigger gap but still.Every point matters not just against the top 4.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

The phrase being associated with this game is.. Where our season really starts. Hopefully our players aren't deluded by our 100% start, which I don't think they are. They have a right to be happy and in a celebratory mood, but they should also take into account nobody's really challenged us (goal wise). West Ham put up their defence and tried to play us, but at the end of the day it was still a, more or less, comfortable victory for us.

Hopefully (touch wood) Lampard and Terry should be back, which will be a big morale boost. I'd like to see Cole, Malouda, Essien & Cech rested on Wednesday because these 4 have been vital in the last few games and an injury to any of them (Cech & Cole especially) could have grave implications for our team.

[BLionheart 516]

yes , this is where our season starts ... you can consider those five matches we played were like a preseason or a preparation for what comes next . we have had some very easy fixtures in the start of the league and man city without a doubt will be the hardest opponent we had so far .

and yes , there is something called an easy fixture and a hard one . they all count for 3 points but you can get this 3 points easily against the likes of blackpool but you will have to work your ass off to get them out of tottenham or man city . so you have to win the easy games and the hard ones as well if u wanna be the champion like what mourinho used to tell his players , if we can win all of our fixtures against the bottom ten teams home and away then we will have 60 points without even putting a foot against the top 10 .

so no one can neglect the fact that we have been magnificent in our run lately but i hope we don't get over excited . because it's gonna be completely different against he likes of man city because essein and mikel might actually have a real challenge in yaya toure de jong and barry , also kalou will not get these numbers of chances so he can waste some but still get his name on the scoreline . Drogba will finally have a physical challenge from kolo toure and kompany . cech with terry and alex won't have a quite night against tevez , adebayour , milner and johnsen so they will have to be at the top of their game .

the good part is we definitely can go ahead and get at least 7 points from the next 3 fixtures ( man city - arsenal - astonvilla) . we have the players that are capable of even winning the 3 matches .

the bad part is i have always found the clashes against astonvilla , tottenham , everton and mancity very hard may be just as hard as the big four matches or sometimes harder and this simply because those teams has nothing to lose they might be fighting for a UCL seat or a higher ranking but they definitely don't have to be worried about the game result . also they tend to have a very formidable line up but still sometimes just park the bus and play on counterattack and this system has proved to be very dangerous if it was played with the right way .

we have to be very careful , we need to win this , it will give us a great confidence boost and will have a great effect mentally on our players as well as our rivals so win these 3 matches and our chances of winning the league will be doubled

[LDN Blue 7,903]

the bad part is i have always found the clashes against astonvilla , tottenham , everton and mancity very hard may be just as hard as the big four matches or sometimes harder and this simply because those teams has nothing to lose they might be fighting for a UCL seat or a higher ranking but they definitely don't have to be worried about the game result . also they tend to have a very formidable line up but still sometimes just park the bus and play on counterattack and this system has proved to be very dangerous if it was played with the right way .

Exactly! We're expected to be challenged by these games but also to win them.

With teams who chase Champions League or even Europa League places seek to attack us because they know the points could go a long way for them, but if they lose it won't be that big of a blow because they'd still have enough quality to overcome the lower league teams such as West Ham, Wigan, Bolton, Blackburn ect (no disrespect to them except El-Hadji Diouf)

Like BLionheart said, we need to beat teams like Shitty, Yids and Everton for our own morale as much as the points to gain.

[Rambo 1,729]

I hope the blues can embarass them like they did to us at SB last season. Get em boys.

[Laylabelle 9,292]

Hmmm wonder if Bridge and JT both we'll start have the hand shake saga all over again..

[We Hate Scouse 10,260]

Hmmm wonder if Bridge and JT both we'll start have the hand shake saga all over again..

I'd love it if every player in our squad went out and no one shook his hand. That would be epic!

[zolayes 14,489]

with our present attacking form ,,it will be opposition worrying about results ...expect City to play 2 or 3 defensive midfielders ...

Arse dont know how to play like that ....let them worry about US

[Styles 9,790]

Think both teams will be very cautious and cancel each other out. In tight games so much depends on good refereeing and just sheer luck. The 4-2 defeat last season was just simply bad luck and Mike Dean, a referee who hates Chelsea.

We have a better team and would hope we can win but a draw will do. We didn't treat them like a proper team last year and were too gung-ho at times.

Also if Lampard isn't 100% I'd hate to see him play. Mikel, Ramires and Essien are more than good enough to win that midfield battle and we have enough of a goal threat in Malouda, Anelka and Drogba to not have Lampard rushed back.

[DYC. 7,542]

Will be interesting to see if the team will also play good attacking football against the topsides. Last season we only played attacking football in the first half against Man Utd at Old Trafford.

Would be very refreshing.

[Styles 9,790]

Will be interesting to see if the team will also play good attacking football against the topsides. Last season we only played attacking football in the first half against Man Utd at Old Trafford.

Would be very refreshing.

And none of those top sides played good attacking football against us either. We can counter-attack very well. Man City are playing at home so the onus is on them to attack and win the game. I wouldn't be disappointed seeing us defend in numbers and look to hit on the counter.

[Madmax 9,219]

It certainly seems 'refreshing' before the game, but it we end up losing the game because of being too expansive, won't it be termed 'naive'?

[DYC. 7,542]

And none of those top sides played good attacking football against us either. We can counter-attack very well. Man City are playing at home so the onus is on them to attack and win the game. I wouldn't be disappointed seeing us defend in numbers and look to hit on the counter.

But the thing is, i don't really care about their style of play. I'm just saying it would be nice if we play in a attacking way.

And i'm not saying all out attack, but attack-minded.