Jose Mourinho: Back in the dugout after his furious tirade against the referee in the win over Cardiff
A heavyweight showdown lies in store at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea take on fellow title contenders Manchester City as part of Super Sunday.
It is Arsenal who top the table ahead of the weekend's action but Chelsea and City are lurking just behind and remain the two favourites with bookmakers, especially with defending champions Manchester United starting slowly.
There are signs that Chelsea are beginning to click into top gear, having scored 14 goals in the four games they have played in all competitions this month.
A controversial opening goal was needed to help set them on the way against Cardiff City last Saturday, as Samuel Eto'o nicked the ball off David Marshall as it was bounced by the goalkeeper, but they proved far too strong for the remainder of the game and eventually prevailed 4-1.
A 3-0 UEFA Champions League victory away to Schalke followed in midweek, when Fernando Torres scored twice to give Jose Mourinho a welcome selection headache in attack.
Mourinho will be in the dugout on Sunday after escaping a touchline ban for his furious tirade against referee Anthony Taylor last week, and he will be looking to preserve his record of never having lost a league match at Stamford Bridge.
Manuel Pellegrini got the better of Mourinho once in five Primera Liga meetings between Malaga and Real Madrid while they were both in charge in Spain, but also suffered a couple of heavy defeats at the Bernabeu including a 7-0 loss in 2011 and 6-2 reverse last season.
The new Manchester City manager will be in more confident mood heading to London, though, with his side on a three-match winning run in all competitions.
Redknapp's Chelsea v Man City Preview
Sergio Aguero has netted five goals in those three games and was the star of the show in a 2-1 victory away to CSKA Moscow on Wednesday, although the Champions League encounter was marred by racist abuse from the fans in Russia.
Paul Merson's prediction
I think Manchester City are going to go and win the Premier League this year, as long as they avoid complacency. They've lost to both Cardiff and Villa, but when they've been asked to produce in big football matches like against Everton at home and against Manchester United they have hammered their opponents and played really well. When they have needed to get going they have and I don't expect them to be lacklustre on Super Sunday.
I don't think there is much between these two teams - and I think Chelsea will be favourites on Sunday because they're at home - but the difference in the title race might be the strength of City's squad. Chelsea's options up front are Fernando Torres (who played well in midweek but can he do it consistently?), Samuel Eto'o (who scored against Cardiff, but isn't the player he was) and Demba Ba.
On the other hand, Man City have Sergio Aguero, Alvaro Negredo, Edin Dzeko - and Stevan Jovetic can't even get a game. City have done a lot of travelling this week (Russia isn't up the road...), so Chelsea need to start quickly, but both teams had a fairly easy time in Europe. I reckon this will be a tight game and I think it should be a good, high-scoring game, too.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-2
Chelsea
Mourinho is set to have Ashley Cole available again after the Chelsea left-back missed the trip to Germany in midweek due to a rib injury.
The Blues boss must decide whether to recall Eto'o to the starting XI or keep faith with Torres following the Spaniard's two goals against Schalke.
Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel is a long-term absentee for Chelsea with knee ligament damage.
Man City
Manchester City have been dealt a blow with the news that captain and defensive talisman Vincent Kompany has failed to recover in time from a groin problem.
Martin Demichelis will not be risked following a lengthy spell out but Pellegrini may decide to freshen up his side with a couple of changes after a long trip to Russia.
All the other players are fit, including midfielder Jack Rodwell, who has recovered from a hamstring injury.
Previous game's starting line-ups
Team taken from Chelsea vs Schalke (UEFA Champions League) on Tuesday 22nd October 2013
Team taken from Manchester City vs CSKA Moscow (UEFA Champions League) on Wednesday 23rd October 2013
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