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16 Aug: City 3-0 Blues

21 Feb: Blues 5-1 City

16 Apr: Blues 3-0 City

3 Dec: City ?-? Blues

Sergio Aguero is grinning as disappears back down the Etihad tunnel. Maybe he fancies his chances of breaching this Chelsea defence. He did score four goals against them last season after all.

The Etihad pitch is getting one last drenching from the sprinklers, as the players begin to re-emerge in the tunnel.

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Some Fantasy Football managers might be lucky enough to have both Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa in their team. 

Manchester City and Chelsea are just thankful to have one of them apiece. 

Aguero's nimble footwork and sat-nav style finishing contrasts sharply with Costa's defender-bullying physicality. But there are similarities.

Both arrived in England from Spanish side Atletico Madrid. Both have since fired their teams to Premier League titles. And both top the scoring charts this season with 10 top-flight goals.

Let the shoot-out begin.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola: "Our system is take the ball, defend and attack. Play outside, inside and score a lot of goals and not concede. That's what every manager wants to do!

"Every game is a challenge and obviously Chelsea are playing well and are in good form. It is a challenge for us to see what out level is. Today won't win the Premier League or lose the Premier League, but it is test."

On Raheem Sterling's absence: "He's injured. At Burnley he had a kick on his knee, he tried to train yesterday but didn’t feel comfortable."

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John McEnerney: Clever putting Cesc in when he's on there isn't many better, he'll want to put in a big performance. Score draw spoils shared!

Liz Tray: Navas and Sane are the weak links in the City team. Hopefully Chelsea won't notice.

Chris Waddle
Ex-England winger, BBC Radio 5 live at Etihad Stadium

Image source, AFP

Keep an eye on today's game, because there's every chance that one of these two clubs will win the league. 

Conte has established a system for his Chelsea side that works really very well, but of course he has superb players and frankly can play any system he likes. 

The same goes for City of course. Get the ball to players like De Bruyne and Silva and just let them play.

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And here's why it is big. Pep Guardiola says the Premier League won't won or lost today - he's right, of course - but who is to say the result won't have a big impact on the title race.

A home win - their first in league since 17 September - will move City above Chelsea into pole position.

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at Etihad Stadium

Cesc Fabregas has been sidelined since what appeared to be a watershed moment for Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, namely the 3-0 loss at Arsenal in late September.

Chelsea have won seven straight Premier League games since he was axed but an injury to Nemanja Matic means he is recalled for what is arguably the Premier League's game of the season so far here at Manchester City.

Fabregas is still a player of quality and high ambition so he will want to show Conte he can still be part of his long-term plans.

Chelsea's tried and tested winning formula has needed a minor alteration.

After naming the same starting XI for six straight Premier League matches, Antonio Conte is forced into a single tweak from the 2-1 win against Tottenham.

Central midfielder Nemanja Matic has a "little muscular problem" according to Conte, who brings in Cesc Fabregas.

The Spain international plays for the first time since that hammering at Arsenal in September.

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All change for Manchester City. Six switches in personnel, plus a tactical tweak, from last weekend's win at Burnley.

John Stones comes back into a three-man defence with Ilkay Gundogan returning in front of him alongside Fernandinho.

But it is the attacking areas which have been loaded up by Pep Guardiola. David Silva, Kevin de Bruyne, Leroy Sane and Jesus Navas are the men brought back in.

Yaya Toure drops to the bench, while Raheem Sterling misses out completely with a minor knee injury.

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Chris Waddle
Ex-England winger, BBC Radio 5 live at Etihad Stadium

There will be goals and entertainment. Chelsea have been a very exciting side this season, but we also know that Pep Guardiola's teams are always on the front foot and want to move the ball quickly. This has all the makings of a classic.

Omens. Good or bad. Do you take any notice? Or think it is all a load of codswallop?

Because Chelsea arrive in a grey Manchester with seven wins on the trot under their belt. 

Last time they won eight? 2010. Who ended that winning streak? Manchester City. Just saying...

Actually, I've got a confession. I think it is too early to be chatting Christmas. But everyone seems to disagree. Especially Manchester City's resident DJ. He's blasting out Noddy Holder as we speak.

Both sides are going through their pre-match warm-ups, with all of the home players wearing T-shirts paying tribute to members of the Brazilian footballl team Chapecoense who died in a plane crash on Monday.

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Cheers Mandeep. While he dashes off and does his Christmas shopping, we’re going to concentrate of the afternoon’s footy. Aren’t we? You can pop out and buy grandma’s new knitting set on one of the next 22 days.

And what an early present we have got for you. The current Premier League leaders at the pre-season title favourites. A cracker. And not a rubbish plastic toy in sight.

I've taken you as far as I can and now it's time to hand the reins over to my esteemed colleague Jonathan Jurejko. Enjoy. 

Football Focus

Football Focus are braving the December weather to host this week's show from Sutton United's Gander Green Lane at 12:00 GMT.

Sutton are hoping to replicate their 1989 FA Cup third round victory over Coventry in 1989 when they face Cheltenham today.

They'll be helped along by a team-talk from comedian Tim Vine, while '89 goalscorers Tony Rains and Matthew Hanlan will join host Dan Walker.

There's also interviews with Arsenal forward Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Leicester City captain Wes Morgan and Swansea manager Bob Bradley. 

Watford head coach Walter Mazzarri: "West Bromwich is a club that is doing very well and the results speak for themselves.

"Because of the way that they play, it's very difficult for every team that plays against them to perform well.

"We still need to grow, especially to avoid these ups and downs that the team has had throughout the season." 

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