Chelsea can open up an eight-point lead over Manchester City for the second time this season by beating its Premier League title rival today in the most pivotal match of the campaign so far.
Having worked so hard in December to get back on level terms with Chelsea, City has allowed Jose Mourinho's team to pull clear again after drawing at Everton and losing at home to Arsenal in its last two league games.
For City manager Manuel Pellegrini, nothing less than a victory will do at Stamford Bridge.
Throw in a home loss to second-tier Middlesbrough in the FA Cup last weekend and City's form has plummeted — despite star striker Sergio Aguero being back in the side after injury.
Chelsea was also humbled in the FA Cup last Saturday — by third-tier Bradford — but recovered quickly by beating Liverpool last Tuesday to reach the League Cup final.
That win was marred, however, by Chelsea striker Diego Costa stamping on an opponent's leg, leaving the Spain international facing a three-game ban that would rule him out of the City fixture.
With question marks also hanging over the fitness of key centre midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who came off with a hamstring injury against Liverpool, Chelsea could be without arguably its two best players this season.
Another sub-plot is the return of City midfielder Frank Lampard to Chelsea, for whom he played for 13 years and where he is the club's record scorer with 211 goals. Lampard came off the bench to score City's equaliser against his former club in a 1-1 draw in September, and didn't celebrate his goal. AP
