Coach Graham Potter, who is under pressure with his dry Chelsea team offensively, moves to meet Tottenham Hotspur in the London derby on Sunday, in the 25th stage of the Premier League, in which Manchester City is looking to convert its control into goals.
Leaders Arsenal await a cautious trip to Leicester City on Saturday.
Manchester United are absent third, which eliminated Barcelona from the Europa League on Thursday, and Newcastle fifth for this stage because they are busy with the final of the English League Cup at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Potter under pressure
Potter is under increasing pressure to produce results with a team that has spent record numbers in the winter transfer market, but he could draw strength from his side's impressive record against their London rivals.
The Blues are looking to remain unbeaten against Spurs in the league for the ninth consecutive game, looking for a fourth consecutive win at home to their Premier League rivals.
Tottenham are fourth in the league, 11 points ahead of tenth Chelsea who have won only two of their last 14 games in all competitions.
Despite excessive spending at the start of the year, Chelsea have only scored one goal in their last five games in all competitions and have failed to win in their last 4 league encounters: 3 draws and a defeat.
Reports suggest the club's management are willing to give the former Brighton boss some time despite disappointing results, and the boss has called for patience with new signings after last week's home defeat to bottom-placed Southampton.
But defeat against Tottenham will inevitably increase the pressure on the Englishman as some fans begin to raise voices for his dismissal.
For his part, Tottenham fourth hopes to improve their record against their rivals and take advantage of the absence of Newcastle to boost their chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season and achieve their second consecutive victory in the league.
City are looking for stability
On their way to their four league titles in the last five seasons, Manchester City have gone through a long run of victories at a certain point in the season.
But the defending champions are still struggling to stay at their current peak.
Pep Guardiola's men appeared to have turned the title race around when they knocked Arsenal down at the Emirates Stadium earlier this month to take them off the table.
But a late goal from Nottingham Forest last week from the latter's only shot on target forced a 1-1 draw for City, who dominated throughout the game and failed to translate their chances to slip off the lead.
It was similar in Leipzig in the first leg of the Champions League final on Wednesday, after failing to convert its dominance in the first half to more than one goal, only for the Germans to respond after the break and the confrontation ended in a draw (1-1).
Guardiola said after the draw with Forest: "It was a great performance, we played very well but we didn't score. We have to score."
He will try to do so when they take on 17th-placed Bournemouth on Saturday.
Arsenal are two points ahead of City and have a game in hand.
The Gunners, who are looking for a first league title since 2004, ended a four-game unbeaten streak, three of them in the league, with a fatal 4-2 victory over Aston Villa last week, including two goals in stoppage time.
But Leicester's crushing 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in their last home game of the penultimate stage is a strong warning of what may await Mikel Arteta's men.
Conflict to avoid relegation
Just eight points separate the bottom nine places, promising the end of a season that could be the strongest in the fight to avoid relegation.
4 teams face face to face this week, including Leeds and runners-up bottom with Southampton bottom who kept Friday on the services of Spanish coach Robin Celis until the end of the season, succeeding the Welshman Nathan Jones, who was sacked from his post earlier this month, after a promising start in his first match victory over Chelsea.
As for Leeds, he is playing his first match under the supervision of new Spanish coach Javi Gracia, succeeding the American Jesse Marsh sacked.
Sean Dyche is looking for a third consecutive win at home with Everton XVI when they host Aston Villa.