Nick Weaver makes his first top-flight start for the Blues since April 2001 after new signing Andreas Isaksson sustained a slight ankle injury. Richard Dunne has recovered from his hamstring strain and plays alongside Sylvain Distin at the heart of the City defence.
Joey Barton and Trevor Sinclair will flank Ousmane Dabo and Claudio Reyna in midfield, while Bernardo Corradi joins Dabo in making his full City debut alongside Georgios Samaras up front.
Andriy Shevchenko starts for Chelsea, Shaun Wright-Phillips starts a game against his old team for the first time, having only made a brief substitute appearance here last March.
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Nick Weaver makes his first top-flight start for the Blues since April 2001 after new signing Andreas Isaksson sustained a slight ankle injury. Richard Dunne has recovered from his hamstring strain and plays alongside Sylvain Distin at the heart of the City defence.
Joey Barton and Trevor Sinclair will flank Ousmane Dabo and Claudio Reyna in midfield, while Bernardo Corradi joins Dabo in making his full City debut alongside Georgios Samaras up front.
Andriy Shevchenko starts for Chelsea, Shaun Wright-Phillips starts a game against his old team for the first time, having only made a brief substitute appearance here last March.