We played the Blues in our last game, a 1-0 away win at Stamford Bridge in the Barclays Premier League.
Now we face Graham Potter’s men in cup action at the Etihad Stadium today, kick-off 16:30 (UK time).
And boss Guardiola has brought in Stefan Ortega Moreno, Aymeric Laporte, Manuel Akanji, Sergio Gomez, Riyad Mahrez, Cole Palmer and Julian Alvarez in place of Ederson, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
Jack Grealish is out through illness and Ruben Dias is not fully fit.
TEAMS
CITY XI: Ortega Moreno, Walker (c), Laporte, Akanji, Gomez, Rodrigo, Silva, Palmer, Mahrez, Foden, Alvarez.
Subs: Ederson, Phillips, Stones, Ake, Cancelo, Gündogan, Haaland, De Bruyne, Lewis
CHELSEA XI: Kepa, Humphreys, Chalobah, Koulibaly, Hall, Jorginho (c), Kovacic, Ziyech, Gallagher, Mount, Havertz
Subs: Bettinelli, Azpilicueta, Badiashile, Cucurella, Thiago Silva, Chukwuemeka, Zakaria, Hutchinson, Fofana
TACTICS
It’s the usual 4-3-3 for City – Pep Guardiola’s preferred formation.
Stefan Ortega Moreno is between the sticks and protected by a back four of Kyle Walker, who skippers the side, Aymeric Laporte, Manuel Akanji and Sergio Gomez.
Rodrigo is the anchor man in the midfield, with Bernardo Silva and Cole Palmer getting forward on either side of him.
Phil Foden will look to work his magic on the left wing and Riyad Mahrez is expected to attack down the right in support of central forward Julian Alvarez.
ALVAREZ STARTS
Julian Alvarez received the adulation of the crowd before kick-off against Everton as he was introduced to the stadium as a World Cup winner.
Today, Alvarez will want to hear a huge roar from the Etihad faithful as he looks to hit the goalscoring trail again after his exploits in Qatar 2022.
He bagged four goals as Argentina emerged victorious in the 32nd edition of the global football tournament.
But Alvarez has his mind firmly set on domestic matters as he looks to help us secure a Fourth Round spot in the FA Cup.
PALMER EAGER TO IMPRESS
Cole Palmer comes into the starting line-up for today’s FA Cup Third Round clash with Chelsea.
He’ll be eager to impress against the Blues in the 16:30 (UK time) encounter here at the Etihad.
He is the cover star of the January edition of the official City Magazine.
And he told us how he feels fully recharged after the winter break for the World Cup as he looks for a solid second half of the season.
He said: “It’s been good, actually.
“We obviously don’t normally get a winter break during the season, so it’s been different.
“But I’m ready to go now for the second part of the season. I honestly can’t wait...”
MATCH STATS
This is the eighth meeting between City and Chelsea in the FA Cup – we have won four and the Blues have won three of those ties, including each of the last two (5-1 in 2015/16 fifth round, 1-0 in the 2020/21 semi-final).
Chelsea have lost five of their last six away matches against City (W1) in all competitions. Their one win in that time was in May 2021 in the Premier League under Thomas Tuchel, a 2-1 victory.
City have already eliminated Chelsea from the League Cup this season, winning 2-0 in November. This could be the second consecutive season that Chelsea are knocked out of both the League Cup and FA Cup by the same team, losing in the final of both competitions to Liverpool in 2021/22.
Chelsea have progressed from each of their last 24 FA Cup third round ties, stretching back to the 1998/99 season.
Since the 2016/17 season when Pep Guardiola took charge of City for the first time, only Chelsea (27) have won more FA Cup games than us (24).
