Manchester City may be happy to extend their record run of seven straight Premier League draw when they come up against Chelsea tomorrow.

City's expensively assembled squad finally clicked back into gear to beat Arsenal 3-0 in the League Cup this week, but Chelsea have scored 17 goals and conceded none in winning their last five Premier League matches and are five points clear at the top with by far the best goal difference.

"What the win has done has put us in the right frame of mind for the visit of Chelsea at the weekend," City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips said.

That attitude could be crucial if City's players are not to be intimidated by the statistics stacked up against them.

City are six places and 14 points behind Chelsea and have won just one of their last 22 meetings with the Blues, losing the last eight by a combined score of 19-1.

Looking at that, holding Chelsea to their first draw of the season wouldn't be so bad.

City are hoping Wright-Phillips is fit to face his former club after limping off against Arsenal on Wednesday with a calf injury. City need all their big players: Chelsea have conceded just eight goals in 14 matches and lost only twice.

Quality

Defender Ricardo Carvalho said the club is well-placed to add to the titles it won under the now departed José Mourinho in 2005 and 2006.

"We are an improvement even from that first year here under Mourinho," Carvalho said. "Of course, then we were compact and everyone was fighting, but now I think we have more quality in the squad maybe.

"Then it was 4-3-3 with wingers and now it is 4-4-2 with two strikers, so it is different but we are in a very good shape. Everyone is helping each other and fighting."

Chelsea exited the League Cup after losing to Blackburn 4-3 in a shootout. Coach Carlo Ancelotti's gamble of introducing three halftime substitutes was one of the main reasons his team could only draw 3-3 through extra time. Chelsea played from the 75th minute of normal time with 10 men because of an injury to Salomon Kalou.

"I decided to take the risk at half-time," Ancelotti said. "I thought it was better to put some younger players on the pitch."

A stronger side is set to be on display at City of Manchester Stadium.

Arsenal lost 3-0 to Chelsea last weekend in the Premier League and then by the same score to City, albeit with the weakened team manager Arsene Wenger habitually uses in the League Cup.

Young players

Wenger insists the latest loss will not affect his team ahead of the visit of Stoke.

"We have not won a trophy since 2005, but I don't consider that if you win the Carling (League) Cup we parade around and say we have won the trophy," Wenger said. "For me it is a competition where we develop our young players.

"I don't believe that next season if we had won the Carling Cup I would say, 'We won a trophy last year.' To play in the quarter-final or semi-final or final of the Champions League is 10 times more difficult."

Wenger will recall Cesc Fabregas, Andrei Arshavin and Thomas Vermaelen to face Stoke, who are in ninth place after losing just one of their last seven matches.

Blackburn will be on a high against Liverpool after their victory over Chelsea and will be boosted by the return of manager Sam Allardyce following heart surgery.

Also, tomorrow, Aston Villa host Hull, Portsmouth host Burnley, West Ham host Manchester United, Wigan host Birmingham and Wolverhampton host Bolton.

Third-place Tottenham are at Everton on Sunday, when Sunderland travel to Fulham.