Source: SKY_Sports
Chelsea v Man City live!
81 Robinho is booed off by the home fans. He is replaced by Valeri Bojinov.[LNB]79 Lampard digs a cross out with his left foot and Ballack's header is blocked by a wall of City defenders.[LNB]78 Onuoha is given a talking to by Riley after showing mild dissent.[LNB]77 Ballack spreads the ball to Carvalho as Chelsea look to close out the game.[LNB]75 Bridge wins a goal-kick after a challenge with Malouda.[LNB]74 Ched Evans is booked after a tussle with Essien and a verbal volley at the referee.[LNB]73 A scrappy period of the game as much of the game is contested in the centre circle.[LNB]71 Robinho is limping a little. Chelsea continue to dominate but City are holding firm quite comfortably now.[LNB]70 Drogba is replaced by Florent Malouda following his knock a few minutes ago.[LNB]69 Anelka nips in and dispossesses the unaware Zabaleta. Drogba is back on the field.[LNB]68 Drogba is down receiving treatment and there is a break in play.[LNB]67 Etuhu's first act is to shoot wide from the right-hand side of the Chelsea box.[LNB]66 Hughes makes another change as Elano is replaced by Kelvin Etuhu.[LNB]64 Belletti hits the inside of Given's left-hand post with a low driven effort from the edge of the box. Chelsea win a corner that Given flaps at but the visitors get away with it and clear their lines.[LNB]63 Ireland gets the better of Cole and sets Richards on his way, but Ireland watses possession when he gets the ball back from his right-back.[LNB]62 Lampard glides through a couple of challenges but cannot latch onto a return pass from Drogba.[LNB]61 Drogba spins and clips a ball through intended for Anelka but his strike-partner is grounded following an innocent tumble.[LNB]60 City win a corner but it's a poor one from Wright-Phillips as it doesn't beat the first man.[LNB]59 Elano spreads the play to Richards as City try to force their way back into the contest.[LNB]58 Elano's free-kick fails to clear the four-man Chelsea wall.[LNB]57 City back for more and Elano draws a free-kick from Terry.[LNB]56 Drogba heads Elano's flag-kick clear.[LNB]55 City work the ball to Robinho who shoots from 30 yards. It deflects off Ashley Cole and City have a corner.[LNB]54 Caicedo is replaced by Ched Evans as Mark Hughes makes City's first change of the match.[LNB]53 Essien plays a one-two with Lampard and makes a driving run towards the City box before pulling his shot wide from 20 yards.[LNB]52 Given smothers a shot from Drogba who couldn't quite master the tight angle. Excellent save from the City stopper though.[LNB]51 Wright-Phillips finds some space on the City right but his cross is headed away by Bosingwa.[LNB]50 Essien bursts towards the edge of the City box but is crowded out by four City defenders who block his effort.[LNB]49 Drogba controls a high ball from Cech on his thigh and that prompts recognition frrom the crowd.[LNB]48 A brilliant ball from Essien finds Drogba who races in on goal. Onuoha saves City with a well-timed challenge just as the Chelsea front man was about to pull the trigger.[LNB]47 Essien and Robinho tussle near the corner flag at City's end, and Chelsea have a throw.[LNB]46 City get the second period under way.[LNB]1429 Half-time betting update: With Chelsea dominant and 1-0 up, they are now 1/12 to win the game with Sky Bet. 1-0 Chelsea is 16/5 if you don't fancy any more goals, while 2-0 is 12/5. Essien bagged the first goal and is 16/1 to get the second, with Ireland a 20/1 chance. City are 4/1 to get the next goal.[LNB]45 Just one minute of added time at Stamford Bridge is quickly passed and Chelsea have a deserved 1-0 half-time lead.[LNB]44 Chelsea keep the ball but don't create a chance as we approach half-time.[LNB]43 A slow end to the first-half as City are pedestrian-like with their possesion at the back.[LNB]42 That's Deco's last act as he is substituted for Juliano Belletti. The midfielder looks like he is struggling with an injury. At least I presume he's injured. He's been poor but not that poor.[LNB]41 Robinho finds Richards on the City right but he is blocked off by Deco and Chelsea have a goal-kick.[LNB]39 Another lovely move from Chelsea ends with a header over thebar from Drogba.[LNB]38 Robinho finds himself in space on the right-hand side of the Chelsea box, and his low cross into a dangerous area is cleared by Bosingwa.[LNB]37 Drogba clips a ball through to Essien who cannot control it instantly and Bridge clears.[LNB]35 Super football from Chelsea. Drogba with a brilliant backheel in the City box, but Ballack curls his effort just wide.[LNB]34 City have a short spell of possession inside the Chelsea half but Elano wastes it with a loose ball that Cech collects.[LNB]33 Cech sprints out of his goal to clear the ball midway inside the Chelsea half.[LNB]32 Nedum Onuoha has a little tug at Aneka's shirt in the City box and the French striker goes down. Riley doesn't award a penalty, and it's a tough decision. It might've been harsh but I've seen them given.[LNB]31 The corner falls to Essien on the edge of the box. He pulls it onto his left foot and then drags a shot tamely wide.[LNB]30 Ireland concedes a corner as he is forced to stop the run of Essien.[LNB]29 An inevitable yellow card for Elano who continues his altercation with Ballack by giving away a free-kick on the German with a cynical kick.[LNB]28 Lampard gives the ball away to Ireland on the edge of teh City box.[LNB]26 Juvenile handbags from Ballack, Caicedo and Robinho in the centre circle. It's something of nothing as Caicedo has a cheeky flick at Ballack before he can take the free-kick. Riley handles it well. Can we all get on with the game now boys?[LNB]25 Elano pushes Ballack off the ball so he can't take a free-kick quickly. Riley has a word.[LNB]24 Deco wins a challenge with Richards but City have the throw-in on halfway.[LNB]23 Caicedo spins onto a ball on the edge of the Chelsea box but he drags a left-foot shot across goal and wide of Cech's left-hand post.[LNB]22 At the mid-point in the first-half it's all Chelsea who are dominating and deserve their 1-0 lead.[LNB]21 Drogba walks off the pitch but looks fine to continue.[LNB]20 Drogba is down in the box and referee Mike Riley stops a promising Chelsea attack so the striker can receive treatment.[LNB]19 Richards cannot reach a ball from Pablo Zabaleta on the City right.[LNB]18 City break with Ireland as they look for an immediate response.[LNB]17 GOAL! ESSIEN! Lampard's free-kick pinpoints the unmarked Essien who finds the top corner from the edge of the box. It looks like it came off his shin and looped in past the stranded Given.[LNB]16 Ashley Cole fends off his former team-mate Wright-Phillips and Chelsea have a throw-in on halfway.[LNB]15 Drogba is caught offside once again as City hold a tight line at the back.[LNB]13 A short Chelsea corner results in another one, and from it Ricardo Carvalho glances a header wide of Shay Given's left-hand post.[LNB]12 Nice incisive passing from Chelsea opens up City but Richards is there to clear for a corner before Anelka can get a sniff.[LNB]11 Drogba is bundled off the ball by Micah Richards and City win the throw too.[LNB]10 Bridge forces a save out of Petr Cech but the former Chelsea left-back was flagged offside anyway.[LNB]9 Anelka slides a ball to Didier Drogba but Richard Dunne is strong in the challenge and City clear.[LNB]8 Michael Essien with a driving run towards the City box, but it breaks down when he tries to slip the ball to Nicolas Anelka.[LNB]7 Wayne Bridge hammers another loose Deco pass back into the Chelsea half.[LNB]6 Felipe Caicedo cuts inside from the right and curls a shot wide from 25 yards from an improbable angle.[LNB]5 Jose Bosingwa cuts out a Wright-Phillips pass and strides into the City half with purpose.[LNB]4 At the other end Shaun Wright-Phillips intercepts a Deco pass and Manchester City begin another counter-attack.[LNB]3 Stephen Ireland looks for Robinho with the throughball but John Terry is there to intercept the pass.[LNB]2 Almost an early goal for Chelsea as Frank Lampard flicks the ball into the net, but the flag correctly goes up for offside.[LNB]1 Chelsea get the game under way at a sunny Stamford Bridge. Half the pitch is in shade, Chelsea playing from right to left.[LNB]1326 The teams are in the tunnel as we close in on kick-off time. Sean from Galway reckons Robinho will find the net. He says: "Robinho will score against Chelsea again... If it's an open game, City can knick it with Stevie Ireland running the show, he's been immense this season, certainly one of the best midfielders in the Premier League (pity he won't play for Ireland!!). I'm delighted to see Ballack's playing, he was dreadful midweek... Come on City!!"[LNB]1314 Khalid is the first of you to disagree with me, I sense he won't be the last. He says: "Chelsea are playing well under a new coach, 6 wins and 1 draw and they seem in good form so I reckon they will win by 4-1. Good Luck Chelsea !!"[LNB]1303 Those who know best at Sky Bet can't see past a Chelsea win here - the Blues are 4/11 chances to win the game, with Man City 17/2 shots. For what it's worth (probably not a lot), I reckon a narrow Chelsea win is the most likely result here. 1-0 Chelsea is a 9/2 chance, and 2-1 Chelsea 8/1. I might back one or both, but can't decide. What do you think?[LNB]1258 And here's Manchester City: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Zabaleta, Elano, Robinho, Caicedo. Subs: Hart, Bojinov, Garrido, Fernandes, Evans, Etuhu, Berti.[LNB]1257 Here's the Chelsea line-up: Cech, Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Ballack, Essien, Lampard, Deco, Anelka, Drogba. Subs: Hilario, Mikel, Malouda, Quaresma, Kalou, Alex, Belletti.[LNB]1255 Good afternoon and welcome to our clockwatch on Chelsea v Manchester City. After yesterday's events at Old Trafford Guus Hiddink's side get the chance to move within four points of leaders Manchester United and level with Liverpool, while Manchester City will be hoping to double the number in their away wins column to two. Send any views you have on the game to ben.linfoot@bskyb.com - team news follows shortly...[LNB]
