Chelsea face Manchester City in the first of their two meetings this week with both clubs looking to secure their first wins of 2023.
The Blues can revive their season with successive victories over Pep Guardiola's side when they meet in both Premier League and FA Cup action.
Mahrez was among the scorers when City beat Chelsea in November
Graham Potter's men fell to a disappointing 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest last time out that left them languishing down in ninth.
City were held to their own 1-1 stalemate by Everton and can't afford to lose any more ground to leaders Arsenal in their bid to defend their crown.
The Citizens ended the Blues' Carabao Cup hopes back in November and have the chance to do the same when the two meet again in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Yet the Londoners can take solace from the last time they were involved in a double header with Guardiola - winning both an FA Cup semi-final and in the Premier League at the Etihad under Thomas Tuchel back in 2021.
Chelsea vs Manchester City: Date and time
This Premier League clash will take place on Thursday, January 5.
The top-flight contest at Stamford Bridge will kick-off at 8pm.
Chelsea vs Manchester City: TV channel and live stream
This match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League with live coverage starting from 6:30pm.
Sky Sports customers can live stream this via the app using their mobile, tablet or computer devices.
If not, you can purchase a Sky Sports Day Pass from NowTV for £9.99.
talkSPORT.com will also be running a live blog of all the action too.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
Potter's men have won just one of their last five Premier League games
Chelsea vs Manchester City: Team news
The hosts are without a number of key stars due to injury, with N'Golo Kante, Armando Broja and Reece James all sidelined.
Wesley Fofana is close to a return while both Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ben Chilwell could be involved once again.
City have no fresh injury concerns to contend with, but Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias are still in the treatment room.
World Cup winner Julian Alvarez came off the bench against the Toffees and is among the players pushing for a recall.
Haaland continues to break records with every game that passes
Chelsea vs Manchester City: What has been said?
Chelsea are 'bang average' and set to miss out on Champions League football by a distance, according to an unimpressed Jamie O'Hara.
"No, I don't think they are going to make the top four this season," he said on talkSPORT following the draw with Forest.
"I think they look really average. Really boring as well.
"I really wasn't impressed by Chelsea. They were bang average [against Nottingham Forest]. They don't really look like they are going to cut you open. They don't look like they are going to hurt you. They don't look physical enough.
"They are soft, Chelsea. They look like Brighton. That's what they look like. Good side, will play good football but they are not going to win trophies.
"They look weak in midfield, weak upfront. If it wasn't for Thiago Silva I would say they were poor at the back. Thiago Silva is an absolute Rolls Royce.
"Kalidou Koulibaly – I don't know what they have seen in him. because I think he's miles off it.
"The rest of them, I'm not convinced at all. Bang average."
Koulibaly hasn't impressed at Chelsea
Chelsea vs Manchester City: Match facts
- Man City boss Pep Guardiola has suffered eight defeats against Chelsea as a manager in all competitions, his joint-most against an opponent (also eight vs Liverpool). He has, however, won his last three against them without conceding a goal, including a 2-0 win over them in the League Cup in November.
- Erling Haaland has seven goals in his six away Premier League appearances for Man City, netting twice in London in August against West Ham. Only two players have scored more than one goal in their first two away Premier League appearances in London – Mark Robins in 1992 (for Norwich vs Arsenal and Chelsea) and Michu in 2012 (for Swansea vs QPR and Arsenal).
- Chelsea's Raheem Sterling scored 91 goals in 225 Premier League appearances for Manchester City between 2015 and 2022. Before he joined the club, he was involved in four goals in his last four appearances against the Citizens in the Premier League (1 goal, 3 assists with Liverpool).
- Manchester City have only lost one of their last 25 away Premier League matches (W18 D6), losing 1-0 to Liverpool in October. They are looking to win three away games in a row for the first time since April/May 2022, the second win of which was away at Leeds.
- Chelsea have lost just one of their last 11 Premier League home games (W6 D4), with their 1-0 defeat against Arsenal in November the only time they've failed to score in their last 23 league games at Stamford Bridge.
- Manchester City have won their first Premier League game in each of the last 10 calendar years, since a 1-0 loss at Sunderland in 2012. Their first league game in each of the last two years has come in London (3-1 vs Chelsea in 2021, 2-1 vs Arsenal in 2022).
- Pep Guardiola has lost just seven of his 34 Premier League games in London as Man City manager (W22 D5), with these seven defeats coming against either Chelsea (3) or Tottenham Hotspur (4).
- Manchester City have won seven of their last 10 Premier League games against Chelsea (L3), as many as they had in their previous 25 against the Blues (D4 L14).
- Manchester City did the Premier League double over Chelsea last season – only once have they won three in a row against the Blues in the competition (December 2009 to September 2010).
- Chelsea have lost their last two Premier League home games against Man City – only against Blackburn (1993-94 to 1995-96) and Arsenal (2020-21 to 2022-23) have they lost three in a row at Stamford Bridge.
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