It was disappointment for Manchester City and, to a lesser extent, Chelsea last Wednesday night when the Premier League powerhouses failed to win their opening matches of the Champions League Group Stage.
Conceding late to Bayern Munich denied City a point while Jose Mourinho’s side had to settle for a 1-1 home draw with Bundesliga strugglers, Schalke.
Both sides must regain their focus for this weekend when they meet in what promises to be a blockbuster clash at the Etihad Stadium.
First-place Chelsea will enter the match as slight favourites, having taken all 16 points possible from their first four matches but last year’s champions, City, are sure to provide strong competition despite their 5th place status.
A victory for City will be crucial if they are to keep Chelsea from running away from the pack. A win on Sunday for Mourinho’s men could see them go as far as five points ahead in this young Premier League season.
Man City’s goalkeeper, Joe Hart says he and his team mates must bounce back with victory against Chelsea this weekend.
“It doesn’t get any easier for us, but that’s the beauty of playing for this side, you get big game after big game,” Hart says of the match.
“We like to think of ourselves as big-game players, so we need to step up again on Sunday. It’s a big week for us. We’ve not won for a little while, so we need to step up. We need to win, it’s a close Premier League, they are a title rival, and we need to beat them.”
