(Laurence Griffiths & Clive Rose/Getty Images)

FOR the third Saturday in a row, there is a mouth-watering clash to anticipate as Manchester City and Chelsea meet at lunchtime at The Etihad.

These two clubs have gatecrashed the elite of English football in the last 13 years with five league titles between them and they are not going anywhere fast.

Ahead of the game, PREMIER LEAGUE WEEKLY focuses on some of the key elements and personalities involved.

Can Guardiola’s City unpick Chelsea’s lock and key?

MANCHESTER CITY against Chelsea offers an intriguing contrast in styles. It’s Pep Guardiola against Antonio Conte, it’s Spain against Italy, a clash of football philosophies. The Spanish and the Italians have been rivals for years with each having a disdain for the other’s way of playing.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola (Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

The Spanish despise the Italians’ anti-football and refusal to try and play any kind of neat, passing game. The Italians, until Spain’s recent glory years, would mock their opponents over their pretty patterns but lack of killer instinct, always able to fall into the Italians’ deadly web. City versus Chelsea is not an international match, but there’s a strong argument that it follows similar lines.

Guardiola from his days at Barcelona and Bayern Munich is all about tiki-taka football, dominating possession and overwhelming opponents with that fluid game. So far at City, there have been glimpses of that notably in the first half of the Manchester derby win at Old Trafford and in the six wins to begin the league season.

Antonio Conte (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Conte’s successful time in charge of Juventus was built on strong organisation, solid defence and maximum efficiency going forward. Each year, Juve had the best defensive record in the league. Since switching to three at the back after the 3-0 loss at Arsenal in September, the Blues have won all seven league fixtures and conceded just once to take them a point clear of Liverpool and City at the top of the table – with those classic Italian hallmarks on display.

City will probably have more of the ball at The Etihad and Chelsea will be happy with that. The challenge will be for City’s ball players, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, to provide the ammunition for Sergio Aguero to pierce the rearguard. Chelsea’s gameplan will have a nod to the great Italian style of catenaccio, of a strong team structure allied to a No.10 and a great striker at the other end of the pitch to do the damage. It is a complete contrast of styles and like in any sport, when opposites meet, it usually provides for a fascinating spectacle.

Player of the Day

DIEGO COSTA divides opinion like few players in the Premier League. Some look at him as the epitome of the modern centre-forward. He is strong and holds the ball up well, leads the attack and scores plenty of goals – all big plusses. Yet many others can only see his negative qualities. He dives, he cheats, he fouls, he winds up opponents, he upsets the referees and he positively infuriates opposing supporters. However, ask most fans if they would like Costa in their team and their answer would be an emphatic YES.

Heading into this match, Costa shares the honour of leading goalscorer in the Premier League, alongside City rival Sergio Aguero on ten goals. The Brazilian-born Spanish international has once again played like the striker who was so instrumental when Chelsea won the title two seasons ago.

Last year, when his form dipped early on, his team’s form nosedived and it resulted in Jose Mourinho losing his job. Far too often, last year was all about Costa’s antics rather than his good play.

This season, Antonio Conte seems to be getting his striker to channel that desire to win and compete in the right way. It’s why when he is in the mood, Costa is such a formidable striker. His centre-forward play is as much a reason for Chelsea’s fine defensive work as some of the men further back. That ability to occupy defenders and keep the ball far away from your goal is a huge factor and Conte will want that from Costa at the Etihad. Diego will relish the battle against City’s flimsy defenders and if he can have a big afternoon, it could swing the match in his side’s favour.