Denise from The Chelsea Blog on Saturday's opponents
Ahead of Saturday's key clash at Stamford Bridge, Bluemoon caught up with Denise from The Chelsea Blog to get the lowdown on the opposition...
What are your expectations for this season?
Given you're the holders and the only genuine competition, doing better than City in the Premier League would do me.
Are you happy with the manager?
What's not to be happy with? He's entertaining, brutally honest and more importantly, he's a winner. I tend to think when supporters criticise him, they either don't know or have forgotten how ineffective some of the managers have been over the years.
Who are your key players?
Where to start? Obviously the spine of a team will always be key and ours is looking solid throughout again. It was always going to take someone special to keep Petr Cech out of the side but Courtois is certainly that. JT's form is really impressive again, Fabregas and Matic have been a revelation this season and Costa is exactly what we needed. Hazard though, if ever a player can make something happen - that's the man.
Were you happy with the business conducted during the transfer window? Will you do any business this window?
We robbed PSG of £50m for Luiz and brought in Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas (not to mention the sentimental return of the prodigal Drogba) and you need to ask if I'm happy? We're told no signings before the window shuts, so that's what I'll expect.
Are there any rising stars in the squad that we might not have heard of?
Well there's a little known youngster called Diego....... Seriously though, Ruben Loftus-cheek is one for the future. 19 year old midfielder, a giant of a lad but quick and a good football head on his young shoulders.
Your Achilles heel?
All too often this season, it seems to be the officials! But taking them out of the equation, possibly our centre back pairing lately. Cahill's form, of late does nothing for the blood pressure.
If you could have any City player in your team who would you choose?
Frank Lampard :-)
What is your perception of City as a club?
If I'm honest, I paid little attention to City before their inheritance and got the right hump over the whole Robinho thing - right up until it was obvious what a nightmare his signing was anyway. Now though, I'm big enough to acknowledge you've got a great squad and they're managed far better by Pellegrini than they were under Mancini. Still no Mourinho though, is he?
Likely starting XI for the game, and score prediction?
I never predict our scores but my likely XI would be: Courtois, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, JT, Cahill, Hazard, Willian, Matic, Fabregas, Oscar, Costa