Arsenal leading the Premier League table mid-season came as a shock to most of the fanbases. With an eightpoint lead above the defending champions, Manchester City travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Thursday. Man City lost ground on the Gunners last time out, drawing 1-1 with struggling Everton, but Arsenal then made a mistake, producing their own stalemate on Tuesday against third-place Newcastle. City with a game in hand seem to dominate an uninspired Graham Potter side. Pundits as well as the Blues fans have questioned if Graham Potter will be able to push the team up the table. Although Chelsea is the only Premier league club who have beaten Pep Guardiola’s City five times since the beginning of 2016/17 season. With his most recent injury, Reece James now joins Armando Broja and N’Golo Kante as long-term absentees, although Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is back in training. Ben Chilwell, a left back who is recovering, might find that the game is too close. Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias, both of Man City’s centre backs, are expected to miss the game due to minor ailments. Even though Chelsea have a shaky form the past five matches, winning only one, one draw and three losses, their clashes at Stamford Bridge in majority has been successful. On the other hand, Manchester City are targeting for their third consecutive away game victory. “We have to be almost perfect, I would say, from here to the end of the season and hope they drop a little bit in their performance. But, at the same time, I see the way we played the last games, and the feeling is good,” Pep stated. Guardiola said that his target as a manager is to be himself and better than his opponent. Both teams lost points last weekend by losing in their respective games, but Man City seem more likely to recover today and take advantage of Arsenal’s draw.