Man City vs Chelsea LIVE: FA Cup score, result and reaction as City cruise into fourth round

Manchester City and Chelsea go head-to-head for the second time in four days as they clash in the FA Cup this afternoon. The teams also met in the Premier League last Thursday when City edged to a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to Riyad Mahrez’s second half tap-in.

Today’s fixture is being played at the Etihad Stadium with both managers expected to make changes to the starting line-ups. Pep Guardiola is expected to start World Cup winner Julian Alvarez while the likes of Cole Palmer and Stefan Ortega should feature. Meanwhile, Graham Potter’s men have a midweek match versus Fulham on the schedule so Chelsea may choose to rest key players as they attempt to regain some form in the Premier League.

The Blues have reached the final of the FA Cup in each of the last three seasons but have, improbably, failed to win any of those games. They lost out to Liverpool in a penalty shootout last season after previous defeats to Leicester in 2021 and Arsenal in 2020. City’s most recent triumph in this competition came in 2019 and they’ll want to go on another decent cup run this time around.

Follow all the action as Manchester City host Chelsea in the FA Cup third round:

Man City vs Chelsea

• Manchester City face Chelsea for second time in four days in the third round of the FA Cup

• City won previous meeting 1-0 thanks to Riyad Mahrez’s second-half strike

• 54’ CHANCE! - Mount’s effort gets nudged wide of the back post (MCI 3-0 CHE)

• 38’ GOAL! - Foden turns home Walker’s cutback (MCI 3-0 CHE)

• 30’ GOAL! - Alvarez converts from the spot (MCI 2-0 CHE)

• 29’ PENALTY! - Havertz handball gifts Man City a spot kick (MCI 1-0 CHE)

• 23’ GOAL! - Mahrez free kick sends City ahead (MCI 1-0 CHE)

• 19’ CHANCE! - Kepa deflects Palmer’s shot into the side-netting (MCI 0-0 CHE)

Manchester City FC 4 - 0 Chelsea FC

GOAL! Man City 4-0 Chelsea (Mahrez, 85’)⚽️

18:15 , Michael Jones

85 mins: Riyad Mahrez has missed a couple of penalties recently for Manchester City so was determined to step up for this one. He smokes the spot kick into the roof of the net and adds a fourth goal for the home side who are cantering into the fourth round.

Penalty to Man City!

18:13 , Michael Jones

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

83 mins: Bernardo Silva injects a bit of pace into City’s attack and drives through midfield before slipping the ball into Phil Foden. Foden touches it into the box and looks to shoot before getting clipped by Kalidou Koulibaly.

The referee takes a moment then points to the spot and VAR doesn’t overturn the decision.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

18:12 , Michael Jones

81 mins: Manchester City are just guiding the match towards it’s inevitable conclusion. They’re controlling the ball, passing it around confidently without too much pressure from the visitors.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

18:08 , Michael Jones

78 mins: Chance! Chelsea swiftly move the ball down the right side before sliding the ball over to Denis Zakaria on the edge of the box. He’s encouraged to shoot and obliges the crowd.

The shot is well struck but Manuel Akanji gets in front of it and deflects the effort out of play.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

18:04 , Michael Jones

75 mins: A fifth change for Chelsea sees Carney Chukwuemeka replace Mason Mount with 15 minutes to go in the game. The Blues have created just two shots so far with only one of them actually on target.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

18:02 , Michael Jones

72 mins: Close! Kalvin Phillips recovers the ball for Man City and works it over to the left side of the pitch. It comes across to Bernardo Silva who turns it up to Riyad Mahrez driving inside from the right.

He shifts the ball around Conor Gallagher and shoots with his left-foot but curls his effort wide of the far post.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

18:01 , Michael Jones

69 mins: There hasn’t been much to write home about in the second half so far. Graham Potter’s men are still trying to stick to the model of being defensively sound and playing out from deep but it hasn’t been working at all.

Man City are in cruise control.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:56 , Michael Jones

66 mins: Conor Gallagher is twice encouraged to shoot just outside the Man City penalty area by the Chelsea supporters in attendance but instead he looks for a pass into the box.

The midfielder dallies too long on the ball and has it nicked away from him sparking a Man City counter-attack. Riyad Mahrez threads the ball up to Julian Alvarez who has to hold up the ball and wait for back-up as Chelsea quickly get back into their defensive shape.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:53 , Michael Jones

63 mins: Phil Foden curls the Man City free kick into the box but Kalidou Koulibaly has it covered and heads it clear.

Graham Potter makes another couple of changes for Chelsea. Cesar Azpilicueta and Omari Hutchinson are introduced to replace Hakim Ziyech and Jorginho.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:51 , Michael Jones

60 mins: Fofana chests down a long ball under pressure from Akanji then rolls around on the deck looking for a free kick. The referee tells him to play on as City work the ball over to Joao Cancelo on the left wing.

He brings the ball under control then gets taken out by Conor Gallagher who also collects a yellow card.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:48 , Michael Jones

57 mins: Zakaria has put in some bright performances for Chelsea recently and makes a decent run across to the right to help Gallagher out. The midfielder wins a throw in for the Blues which also sparks a couple of Man City changes.

Sergio Gomez and Rodri are off with Kalvin Phillips and Joao Cancelo brought on.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:44 , Michael Jones

54 mins: Nice! Chelsea win a free kick inside Man City’s half which Conor Gallagher plays quickly down the line for Mason Mount. Mount touches the ball into the box then pulls a shot across the face of goal.

Sergio Gomez is aware of the danger and sticks to Mount before deflecting the effort wide of the far post.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:41 , Michael Jones

51 mins: There’s a persistence from Chelsea to play out from the back but City are pressing in numbers making it very difficult. Conor Gallagher does well to keep hold of the ball before spraying it over to the opposite side of the pitch.

Bashir Humphreys brings the ball into midfield and looks to return the ball to Gallagher with a cross field pass but he overhits it and sends the ball out for a throw in.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:38 , Michael Jones

48 mins: Conor Gallagher has started the second half out wide on the right hand side and has seemingly been tasked with helping out Trevoh Chalobah defensively.

Almost immediately Gallagher is caught out by a run inside from Sergio Gomez but the City left-back is flagged offside as the ball comes up to him.

Second half: Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:35 , Michael Jones

Manchester City get the match back underway at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola hasn’t made any changes to the line-up but Graham Potter has swapped out a couple of players.

Denis Zakaria and David Datro Fofana are brought on to replace Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic.

Man City vs Chelsea winner faces potential Arsenal tie in FA Cup fourth round

17:33 , Michael Jones

The winner of Manchester City vs Chelsea will play the winner of Oxford against Premier League leaders Arsenal in the FA Cup fourth round.

Tottenham will travel to Preston, while holders Liverpool, who escaped with a replay against Wolves on Saturday, face an away trip to Brighton should they prevail at Molineux.

While League Two’s Walsall will play the 2021 winners Leicester.

FA Cup 2023 fourth road draw:

Man City vs Chelsea winner faces potential Arsenal tie in FA Cup

HT Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:30 , Michael Jones

Chelsea are trailing by 3+ goals at half-time for the second time under Graham Potter (also vs Brighton), with today his 18th game in charge.

They never trailed by 3+ goals at half-time in 100 games under predecessor Thomas Tuchel.

HT Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:26 , Michael Jones

Riyad Mahrez is the first player to score in three separate games against Chelsea in a single season in all competitions since Javier Hernández for Man Utd in 2012/13.

Only James Ward-Prowse (13) and James Maddison (7) have scored more direct free-kick goals for Premier League teams than the 31-year-old (6) since the start of the 2019/20 season.

HT Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:22 , Michael Jones

Half-time: Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:18 , Michael Jones

45+2 mins: Manchester City have blown Chelsea away in the first half at the Etihad Stadium. They’ve been composed, controlling and clinical in the first 45 minutes and have tallied up three goals without reply.

There’s a lot of work for Chelsea to do in the second half if they want to get back in this game.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:17 , Michael Jones

45 mins: Two minutes of added time to play before the break. A short corner from Man City comes to Phil Foden who curls a cross straight into the arms of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Man City 3-0 Chelsea

17:15 , Michael Jones

41 mins: Sergio Gomez bursts down the left wing and gets past Trevoh Chalobah as the ball comes over the top. He flicks it inside to Phil Foden who can’t find a teammate with his square pass into the middle of the box.

Chelsea clear their lines.

GOAL! Man City 3-0 Chelsea (Foden, 38’)⚽️

17:10 , Michael Jones

38 mins: Another one! City are running away with this now!

The ball comes out to Cole Palmer on the left wing but he plays it inside to Rodri who switches the ball over to Riyad Mahrez on the opposite wing. Kyle Walker then comes storming forward and makes an underlapping run into the box before being fed the ball.

He pulls it back to Phil Foden who turns the ball into the back of the net with his first touch!

Man City 2-0 Chelsea

17:08 , Michael Jones

36 mins: Close! Man City come within inches of a second penalty as Chelsea lose the ball trying to play out from the back. Bernardo Silva weaves his way up to the edge of the box and is taken out by Kalidou Koulibaly.

Riyad Mahrez has a go at goal from the resultant free kick but Kepa Arrizabalaga lifts the ball over the crossbar this time.

Man City 2-0 Chelsea

17:05 , Michael Jones

33 mins: It already looks like a long way back for Chelsea who need to score next if they have any hopes of getting level in the game again.

Kai Havertz looks to make a run from deep but the ball over the top is too far away from him and Kyle Walker tidies up for City.

GOAL! Man City 2-0 Chelsea (Alvarez, 30’)⚽️

17:03 , Michael Jones

30 mins: Julian Alvarez converts! He goes for the bottom left-hand corner and although he doesn’t catch the spot kick cleanly the forward gets enough of the ball to add another goal to Manchester City’s tally.

They lead by two on the half hour mark.

Penalty to Man City!

17:01 , Michael Jones

Man City 1-0 Chelsea

29 mins: VAR tells the referee to go over a look at the pitch side monitor. It’s clear that Havertz punched the ball away from Laporte and after a couple of replays the referee overturns his original decision.

Julian Alvarez has the chance to double City’s lead.

Man City 1-0 Chelsea

17:00 , Michael Jones

28 mins: Phil Foden swings a corner ball into the middle of the Chelsea box and looks for Aymeric Laporte. Laporte and Kai Havertz both leap for the aerial ball which seemingly strikes Havertz on the hand.

As play goes on the ball drops to Julian Alvarez who has a shot blocked and cleared. VAR is looking at the incident though. This should be a penalty.

Man City 1-0 Chelsea

16:58 , Michael Jones

26 mins: Manchester City are in total control now and they’ll look to increase the pressure on Chelsea by scoring again as soon as possible.

Riyad Mahrez has now faced Chelsea three times this season and has scored in each game.

GOAL! Man City 1-0 Chelsea (Mahrez, 23’)⚽️

16:55 , Michael Jones

23 mins: Fantastic goal! Manchester City win a free kick just outside the penalty area and it’s prime territory for Riyad Mahrez. He picks his spot and curls the set piece around the wall before finishing it in the top right hand corner!

Man City 0-0 Chelsea

16:54 , Michael Jones

22 mins: Bashir Humphreys boots the ball long and almost gets Hakim Ziyech into the penalty area.

Sergio Gomez back tracks and slips before he reaches Ziyech but seemingly drags the Chelsea man down inside the box. VAR takes a look at the incident but nothing comes from it.

Man City 0-0 Chelsea

16:51 , Michael Jones

19 mins: Chance! Cole Palmer makes an underlapping run inside of Trevoh Chalobah as Aymeric Laporte loops the ball up to the Manchester City forward.

He carries it into the penalty area and smokes one towards the near post where Kepa Arrizabalaga gets a hand to the ball and turns it wide of the post!

Man City 0-0 Chelsea

16:49 , Michael Jones

16 mins: Kyle Walker switches the play over to the left side of the pitch where Sergio Gomez brings the ball down.

Phil Foden makes a run in behind the Chelsea defence as Gomez dinks a pass down the line but Trevoh Chalobah is well positioned and manages to intercept.

Man City 0-0 Chelsea

16:45 , Michael Jones

13 mins: Sergio Gomez gets forward on the left wing and whips a cross into the box towards Julian Alvarez. He’s challenged to the ball by Kalidou Koulibaly but neither man comes away with it.

Instead the ball bobbles out to Phil Foden who hooks a shot back towards goal and sends one wide of the post. The whistle has already gone though and Alvarez is punished for a foul in the build-up.

Man City 0-0 Chelsea

16:42 , Michael Jones

10 mins: Riyad Mahrez is slipped down the right wing and takes on Lewis Hall. The winger nudges the ball past the young Chelsea defender before overpowering him and recovering the ball inside the penalty area.

Mahrez flicks a cross into the six-yard area where Kepa Arrizabalaga plucks the ball out of the air.

Man City 0-0 Chelsea

16:40 , Michael Jones

7 mins: Man City are trying to control possession and inflict their own tempo on the game but Chelsea have been solid so far and are closing the ball down quickly,

City’s goalkeeper Stefan Ortega slides a short pass into the feet of Rodri who is then clipped by Kai Havertz and wins City a free kick.

Man City 0-0 Chelsea

16:36 , Michael Jones

3 mins: Jorginho attempts to flick a pass over the top for Conor Gallagher on the right but he gets it slightly wrong and allows Aymeric Laporte to collect the ball.

He then feeds it to Rodri who goes on a nice run through midfield before linking up with Cole Palmer on the wing to get the ball up alongside the Chelsea penalty area.

Kick off: Man City 0-0 Chelsea

16:33 , Michael Jones

Chelsea get the match underway and work the ball around their backline before sending a long ball down the left wing and giving it away to the home side.

Thursday’s encounter between these teams was a close affair with Pep Guardiola’s half-time changes the difference at the full-time whistle.

Man City vs Chelsea

16:30 , Michael Jones

Just before kick off, there is a round of applause for former Chelsea player Gianluca Vialli who passed away earlier this week.

Man City and Chelsea enter another edition of the new-money derby

16:24 , Michael Jones

Among other things, it is a tale of two World Cup winners. Julian Alvarez’s first start since the World Cup final could come for Manchester City against Chelsea on Sunday. Indeed his last club goal, separated by strikes against Poland and Australia plus a World Cup semi-final brace against Croatia, was for Manchester City against Chelsea: in the Carabao Cup in November.

Enzo Fernandez was an Argentina teammate of Alvarez’s in Qatar; when the midfielder won the award as the World Cup’s best young player, perhaps it was at the striker’s expense. Each has had a swift rise and they lined up together in May, too, when Alvarez scored six goals in River Plate’s 8-1 thrashing of Alianza Lima in the Copa Libertadores. They left their homeland for Europe soon after; if Chelsea had their way, they might be on the pitch again at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, albeit on different sides.

Chelsea’s attempts to buy Fernandez have riled Benfica; if they end up triggering his release clause, it will cost £105m, though the Portuguese club bought him for just £8.8m. Meanwhile, City can congratulate themselves on the fact they paid a mere £14m for Alvarez. And if Clearlake Capital are entitled to argue they were not Chelsea’s owners when City tied up the deal for Alvarez, the huge sums they may pay for Fernandez – which would strip Jack Grealish of his title as the biggest buy in English football history – help illustrate how their paths have diverged. And, as is perhaps inevitable in the case of these clubs, it involves finances.

Man City and Chelsea enter another edition of the new-money derby

Man City vs Chelsea

16:20 , Michael Jones

Since the 2016/17 season when Pep Guardiola took charge of Manchester City for the first time, only Chelsea (27) have won more FA Cup games than his City team (24).

In his managerial career Guardiola has never previously gone out at the earliest stage in a domestic cup competition across the FA Cup, League Cup, DFB-Pokal and Copa del Rey progressing 20 times out of 20.

Will today be the first time one of his teams fails to progress?

Chelsea’s FA Cup record

16:15 , Michael Jones

Chelsea have progressed from each of their last 24 FA Cup third round ties, stretching back to the 1998/99 season.

This is the joint longest run of progressions from the third round, along with Manchester United between 1984/85-2008/09, although the Red Devils did not take part in the 1999-00 campaign after withdrawing to participate in the Fifa Club World Championship.

John Stones hopes Manchester City ‘back in rhythm’ after win over Chelsea

16:10 , Michael Jones

John Stones hopes Manchester City can now start building momentum after claiming a key victory at Chelsea on Thursday.

The champions responded to Arsenal’s draw against Newcastle earlier in the week by grinding out a hard-fought 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge to move back within five points of the Premier League leaders.

England defender Stones feels City are now moving back in the right direction after being held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by struggling Everton in their previous outing on New Year’s Eve.

John Stones hopes Manchester City ‘back in rhythm’ after win over Chelsea

Man City vs Chelsea

16:05 , Michael Jones

Manchester City have already eliminated Chelsea from the Carabao Cup this season following a 2-0 win in November.

This could be the second consecutive season that Chelsea are knocked out of both the Carabao and FA Cups by the same team after Liverpool eliminated them from both competitions in 2021/22.

Chelsea’s record away to City

15:58 , Michael Jones

Chelsea have lost five of their last six away matches against Manchester City in all competitions. Their one win during this run was a 2-1 Premier League victory in May 2021 under Thomas Tuchel.

Will they pcik up another away win under Graham Potter this time out?

Pep Guardiola jokes he’s ‘a genius’ for match-winning substitution

15:53 , Michael Jones

Pep Guardiola joked he was “a genius” after a double substitution inspired Manchester City to victory against Chelsea and kept them on Arsenal’s tail in the Premier League title race.

Riyad Mahrez fired City to a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge, cutting the deficit to the leaders back to five points.

Less than three minutes after coming on as second-half substitutes, Jack Grealish teed up Mahrez for the winner which keeps Arsenal firmly in their sights.

Guardiola on Stones

15:48 , Michael Jones

After spells being in and out of the Manchester City team the enduring quality of centre-back John Stones has seen him force his way back into the defensive line and impress boss, Pep Guardiola.

In current form Stones is indispensable when City play in the Premier League meaning that he has to sit out of cup games as the manager looks at other players.

“He played an incredible World Cup,” Guardiola said when asked about Stones’ upturn in form. “He was one of the first signings when I joined here seven years ago.

“I know when he goes well, I know when he’s happy and stable, what a player. He’s had ups and downs in the past and injuries but this is part of the process to realise what he needs, to be consistent.”

Mahrez starts for City

15:43 , Michael Jones

Since he joined Man City in 2018, Riyad Mahrez has scored more Premier League goals as a substitute than any other player (9).

He scored the winner against Chelsea last time out, assisted by Jack Grealish, just 3 minutes and 43 seconds after both players had been subbed on.

Despite his status as a super sub, the 31-year-old starts for Pep Guardiola’s side this afternoon.

Man City vs Chelsea team changes

15:38 , Michael Jones

Pep Guardiola keeps just four players in the starting XI from the team that defeated Chelsea 1-0 last Thursday. Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker and Rodri are the ones who keep their places.

There are six changes for Graham Potter’s Chelsea team. Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Marc Cucurella are all taken out for the back line to be replaced with Bashir Humphreys, Trevoh Chalobah and Lewis Hall.

Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling are both injured so drop out with Denis Zakaria starting from the bench. In come Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount and Jorginho.

Man City vs Chelsea line-ups

15:32 , Michael Jones

Man City XI: Ortega, Walker, Akanji, Laporte, Gomez, Rodri, Bernardo, Palmer, Mahrez, Alvarez, Foden

Chelsea XI: Kepa, Humphreys, Chalobah, Koulibaly, Hall, Jorginho, Kovacic, Gallagher, Ziyech, Mount, Havertz

How Gianluca Vialli scored goals and touched souls

15:25 , Michael Jones

It was revealing that so many of the tributes following the death of Gianluca Vialli focused not on his career, but on his character.

The stories were touching and humorous in equal measure, like the time Vialli and fellow Italian Gianfranco Zola wanted to thank Chelsea’s player liaison officer, Gary Staker, for helping them adjust to English life. They told Staker they were taking him out to dinner, and he drove his old Ford to the restaurant where he was persuaded to hand over his keys to a waiter for parking. After the meal, Staker became flustered when he couldn’t find his car outside, and he was even more confused when the Italians pointed at the gleaming new BMW sitting in the car park. When he eventually got his head around their gift, he wept.

During those early days at Chelsea, Vialli worked hard on his English with a little help from his mischievous captain, Dennis Wise. Wise would teach him a new phrase each week and Vialli would endeavour to crowbar this latest nugget into media interviews. Vialli was in on the joke of course, and in his unique blend of Italian Cockney he told a reporter after one defeat: “Well, ‘ats off to them.”

How Gianluca Vialli scored goals and touched souls

Chelsea arrive at the Etihad

15:20 , Michael Jones

The teams have arrived at the Etihad for this afternoon’s FA Cup clash between Manchester City and Chelsea. The official starting XIs will be coming out shortly too.

FA Cup meetings

15:15 , Michael Jones

This is the eighth meeting between Manchester City and Chelsea in the FA Cup.

City have won four and the Blues have won three of the previous seven ties including each of the last two fixtures (5-1 in 2015/16 fifth round and 1-0 in 2020/21 semi-final).

Chelsea’s poor form

15:10 , Michael Jones

Graham Potter’s Chelsea have won just one of their last eight Premier League matches with three draws and four defeats. Since the first game in this run on October 19th, no side has won fewer games in the competition.

The Blues are really struggling to find matchwinning form but can they change that in today’s FA Cup third round?

Man City and Chelsea enter another edition of the new-money derby

15:05 , Michael Jones

Among other things, it is a tale of two World Cup winners. Julian Alvarez’s first start since the World Cup final could come for Manchester City against Chelsea on Sunday. Indeed his last club goal, separated by strikes against Poland and Australia plus a World Cup semi-final brace against Croatia, was for Manchester City against Chelsea: in the Carabao Cup in November.

Enzo Fernandez was an Argentina teammate of Alvarez’s in Qatar; when the midfielder won the award as the World Cup’s best young player, perhaps it was at the striker’s expense. Each has had a swift rise and they lined up together in May, too, when Alvarez scored six goals in River Plate’s 8-1 thrashing of Alianza Lima in the Copa Libertadores. They left their homeland for Europe soon after; if Chelsea had their way, they might be on the pitch again at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, albeit on different sides.

Chelsea’s attempts to buy Fernandez have riled Benfica; if they end up triggering his release clause, it will cost £105m, though the Portuguese club bought him for just £8.8m. Meanwhile, City can congratulate themselves on the fact they paid a mere £14m for Alvarez. And if Clearlake Capital are entitled to argue they were not Chelsea’s owners when City tied up the deal for Alvarez, the huge sums they may pay for Fernandez – which would strip Jack Grealish of his title as the biggest buy in English football history – help illustrate how their paths have diverged. And, as is perhaps inevitable in the case of these clubs, it involves finances.

Man City and Chelsea enter another edition of the new-money derby

Guardiola praises Ake

15:00 , Michael Jones

Pep Guardiola sung the praises of Manchester City defender Nathan Ake who has impressed with his performances since the World Cup break,

“Nobody talks about Nathan and right now he’s playing beyond our expectations as a left-back,” Guardiola said ahead of the FA Cup third round match versus Chelsea today.

“As a defender, how good he defends, all the actions with the ball are clever, these types of players help to make the others bright like Kevin [De Bruyne] and Erling [Haaland]. I always pay attention to these types of things.”

Five from five?

14:55 , Michael Jones

Their Premier League victory over the Blues on Thursday night meant that Manchester City became only the second side ever to win four consecutive meetings with Chelsea in all competitions while also keeping a clean sheet each time, after Bolton Wanderers from 1958 to 1960.

Will they make it five from five this afternoon?

Graham Potter insists he has ‘total support’ of Chelsea hierarchy and hits back at critics

14:50 , Michael Jones

Graham Potter says he has “total support” from the Chelsea board and insists that this is a “completely different” club from the era under Roman Abramovich when they repeatedly sacked managers. The 47-year-old also pointed to how Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta had early struggles only to excel with time, which is something the new hierarchy understand.

Potter added he would not have left Brighton if there was any chance of his job coming under threat this early, regardless of results, and that he is more confident of success now than when he joined.

The Chelsea manager has only one win from the last eight games, which is the sort of form that would have seen his predecessors under serious threat when Abramovich was owner. While that still informs perceptions of Chelsea, the predominant view at the club is that a mismatched squad must be totally reshaped to a new football ideal, that completely fits with Potter’s approach.

There is consequently no threat of a sacking, because the hierarchy see this as a long-term project that is fundamentally linked to the manager’s outlook on the game. The thinking is that Potter is working with a squad built for multiple different coaches, which is why they are not placing too much stock in current form. It is why Potter can speak with such certainty about his position.

Graham Potter insists he has ‘total support’ of Chelsea hierarchy despite form

‘We want to compete for trophies’ says Potter

14:45 , Michael Jones

Chelsea boss, Graham Potter, says his goal is to compete for and win as many trophies as possible during his time at Stamford Bridge but acknowledges that his team have a difficult draw in the third round of the FA Cup.

“We always want to try and compete for trophies, absolutely we do,” Potter said. “In terms of how that gets measured, you have to take the season as it is and analyse it at the end of the campaign. We’re not halfway through the season yet, there’s still lots to play for.

“We’ve got a game in a cup competition that of course we want to do well in. We want to go through, that’s for sure, and we want to compete.

“Obviously we have a difficult game in terms of playing Manchester City at their place but you saw from the other night, we matched them for large periods of the game and gave a pretty spirited performance.

“We need to do the same again today and try to improve.”

Super Stones

14:40 , Michael Jones

Against Chelsea last Thursday night, John Stones had the most touches of any player (102), completed 98% of his passes (85/87), won all of his aerial duels (4/4), and made the most clearances of any Manchester City player (4).

Will he start in this FA Cup clash today?

Chelsea complete £18m signing of Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama

14:35 , Michael Jones

Chelsea have completed the signing of Brazilian starlet Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama.

The 18-year-old joins for a reported £18 million after rising through the ranks of the Rio de Janeiro club.

Santos helped Vasco to promotion to the top flight with a third-place finish in Serie B last term, playing 33 times and scoring eight goals.

Santos, who has also played for Brazil Under-20s, admitted it was a “very big opportunity”.

Chelsea complete signing of Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama

Potter on Chelsea’s injury crisis

14:30 , Michael Jones

Graham Potter hasn’t had the easiest time of things since taking over as boss of Chelsea and one of the main problems he’s faced in the growing injury list of first team players.

Reece James and Ben Chilwell are long-term absentees, whilst Mason Mount missed the Manchester City game last Thursday before Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling had to be subbed off early.

"I’ve never experienced anything like it," said Potter, whose side have lost five of their past eight matches in all competitions.

"There are some challenges we face, there are some margins in the Premier League that are difficult, but we’ve had a massive transition and problems in terms of injuries which don’t make it easy to be stable."

Pep Guardiola on Kalvin Phillips’ fitness

14:25 , Michael Jones

"I had the feeling last week that he’s back," said Pep Guardiola when asked whether Kalvin Phillips is back up to match fitness.

"It will maybe be a good lesson for him for the future. I have the feeling that a football player has to be, for 12 months, perfect. Even in holidays you have to be perfect.

"You can enjoy, you can do whatever you want, but you have to be ready because this level is so demanding. You have to play every three days, you have to be fit, and when you’re not fit, nothing.

"In the last week, or days, he improved his level. In the Carabao Cup (quarter-final against Southampton on Wednesday) he is going to play and Sunday we will see."

‘If you are not fit, nothing’: Pep Guardiola issues Kalvin Phillips warning over fitness

14:20 , Michael Jones

Pep Guardiola has promised Kalvin Phillips a belated first start for Manchester City in the next few days but told his summer signing he has to maintain the perfect condition all year.

Phillips has only played 58 minutes for City in an injury-hit spell since joining from Leeds and was omitted from the squad for the Carabao Cup win over Liverpool because Guardiola said he returned from the World Cup overweight.

But Guardiola feels Rodri, his first-choice holding midfielder, needs a break at some stage and will put Phillips in his side either against Chelsea on Sunday or Southampton on Wednesday.

‘If you are not fit, nothing’: Pep Guardiola issues Kalvin Phillips warning

Man City vs Chelsea prediction

14:15 , Michael Jones

Man City to make it two wins from two against the Blues and leave more questions for the new Stamford Bridge boss to answer.

Man City 2-1 Chelsea.

Man City vs Chelsea predicted line-ups

14:10 , Michael Jones

Man City XI: Ortega, Lewis, Stones, Ake, Gomez, Rodri, Gundogan, Palmer, Mahrez, Alvarez, Foden

Chelsea XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Koulibaly, Cucurella, Zakaria, Jorginho, Ziyech, Mount, Chukwuemeka, Aubameyang

What is the team news?

14:06 , Michael Jones

Ruben Dias is the only major absentee for the hosts, though Aymeric Laporte might also miss out. Pep Guardiola is likely to rotate from his last league lineup so the likes of Rico Lewis, Cole Palmer and Stefan Ortega should start, as well as World Cup winner Julian Alvarez.

For Chelsea, long-term absentees Armando Broja, N’Golo Kante and Reece James are still out, while both Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic went off injured in midweek. Wesley Fofana is another doubt but Carney Chukwuemeka could come into the team. New signing Benoit Badiashile could make his debut at some stage.

How to watch Man City vs Chelsea

14:00 , Michael Jones

Man City host Chelsea in the FA Cup on Sunday 8 January, with kick-off set for 4:30pm GMT.

This match is scheduled for broadcast on BBC One. It can be broadcast via the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport desktop website.

Man City vs Chelsea

13:08 , Michael Jones

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s all Premier League clash in the FA Cup as Manchester City take on Chelsea in the third round.

It’s the second meeting in four days between the two teams after City ran out 1-0 winners in a Premier League clash last Thursday at Stamford Bridge. Riyad Mahrez came off the bench to give City the win that night but it is still to be determined whether he will start for Pep Guardiola’s side this afternoon.

Both managers are expected to make changes to their line-ups with Graham Potter also dealing with an injury crisis at Chelsea that has Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount on the sidelines.

The Blues have reached the final of the FA Cup in each of the last three seasons but lost in each one of those matches at Wembley, they’ll be hoping for another successful cup run but Manchester City have never been knocked out in the third round under Guardiola and will a difficult side to beat at home.

We’ll have all the build-up, team news and updates from around the FA Cup third round so stick with us throughout the afternoon.