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Hello and welcome to Stamford Bridge for live coverage of Chelsea's Premier League showdown with Manchester City this afternoon.
After Liverpool's 2-0 win over Fulham yesterday evening, the pressure is now on the Blues to keep pace in their bid for Champions League qualification. A victory for Liam Rosenior's team would see them go back to within a point of the Reds, though they face a difficult challenge in the form of title-chasing Man City.
Pep Guardiola's side can go within six points of leaders Arsenal, who lost 2-1 to Bournemouth yesterday afternoon, with a victory at Stamford Bridge. Recent history suggests this will be a really difficult one for Chelsea, who have not beaten today's opponents since the Champions League final all the way back in 2021.
It all makes for a fascinating encounter in west London. Bobby Vincent is at Stamford Bridge to bring you live updates of Chelsea versus Manchester City.
16:59Bobby Vincent
Chance!
Neto forces a good save from Donnarumma after some fine work on the right-hand side. Corner for Chelsea.
16:59Bobby Vincent
Disallowed goal
Cucurella scores but the flag is up for offside. VAR checked briefly and the decision stands.
16:59Bobby Vincent
Yellow card
Estevao picks up the first booking of the game for kicking the ball away. Silly.
16:59Bobby Vincent
Chance for Chelsea
Chelsea have the first real chance. Palmer led the counter-attack for the Blues and shoots into the side-netting. 'City reject' follows from the away end.
16:59Bobby Vincent
Strong start from City
The visitors have started the better here. Chelsea, so far, have been camped in their own half.
16:59Bobby Vincent
Chelsea shape
Estevao starts on the right-hand side and Neto is on the left. Palmer in the No.10, with Caicedo and Santos behind him. Hato is on the left-hand side of a the central back two alongside Fofana.
16:59KEY EVENT
KICK-OFF
Underway at Stamford Bridge!
16:59Bobby Vincent
Teams are out
Here come the players. Kick-off is on its way!
16:59Bobby Vincent
Teams are in
The two sides have now headed back down the tunnel to complete their final preparations. Kick-off at Stamford Bridge coming up!
16:59Bobby Vincent
Warm ups underway
The two teams are out conducting their warm ups at Stamford Bridge. We're just under 25 minutes from kick-off in a sunny west London.
16:59Bobby Vincent
Scathing Fernandez verdict
ESPN journalist Julien Laurens speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live:
It is a pathetic decision. Loads of players have said things like this. Rodri said the same about Real Madrid. Did Guardiola drop him? No, he said that he completely understood because Madrid is the biggest club in the world. Karl the 17-year-old at Bayern said that one day he would like to play for Madrid, did Kompany drop him? He didn't.
Since when have we dropped players because they said one day I would love to play for X club? It could damage their hopes to finish in the top five and qualify for the Champions League.
16:59Bobby Vincent
Man City team news
Man City XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O'Reilly; Rodri, Bernardo; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland
Man City subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Ake, Marmoush, Kovacic, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden
16:59KEY EVENT
Chelsea team news
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Joao Pedro
Chelsea subs: Sharman-Lowe, Acheampong, Tosin, Sarr, Essugo, Lavia, Garnacho, Guiu, Delap
16:59Bobby Vincent
Fernandez latest
In Friday's press conference, Liam Rosenior confirmed that Enzo Fernandez remains banned for Chelsea's Premier League clash with Manchester City and there are issues still to be resolved ahead of his potential return next weekend.
Rosenior said:
I've had a really good conversation myself, I had three or four with Enzo. He's apologised to me, he's apologised to the club, and we'll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday."
16:59Bobby Vincent
Key information
Kick-off time: 4:30pm (UK time)
Is it on TV? Yes. The match is being broadcasted on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League in the UK
Live stream details: Sky Sports subscribers can watch the match live on Sky Go
16:59Bobby Vincent
Team news
Chelsea are set to be without five players in Filip Jorgensen, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Levi Colwill and Jamie Gittens for this afternoon's match at Stamford Bridge.
As for Manchester City, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Josko Gvardiol are all missing through injury.
KEY EVENT
Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to Stamford Bridge for live updates from Chelsea vs Manchester City.
A mammoth match for both teams this afternoon for different reasons. The Blues are looking to keep pace with Liverpool in the race for a top-five finish, while City are hoping to add pressure on league leaders Arsenal after their defeat yesterday.
Bobby Vincent is in west London to bring you all of the live coverage you need throughout the afternoon!
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