Having already locked horns in the Premier League and FA Cup this term, Manchester City and Chelsea now prepare to battle it out for the biggest prize of them all in Saturday's Champions League final.
The Citizens saw off last season's beaten finalists Paris Saint-Germain to book their place in the final, where Pep Guardiola is still waiting for his first taste of continental success since assuming office in Manchester in 2016.
Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel oversaw a 3-1 aggregate success over Real Madrid to book his side's journey to the Estadio do Dragao, and Chelsea are aiming to end a nine-year wait for the Champions League crown after their historic 2012 win over Bayern Munich.
While City head into the clash as Premier League champions, Chelsea ran the risk of missing out on a top-four finish on the final day of the season, but a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa was ultimately inconsequential as results elsewhere went their way.
With previous meetings between Man City and Chelsea often throwing up some cracking exchanges, Sports Mole takes a look at the last five clashes between the two sides ahead of Saturday's final.
5. Man City 2-1 Chelsea (November 23, 2019)
The most recent meeting between Man City and Chelsea to welcome a full set of spectators - which feels almost alien now - came at the Etihad in November 2019, as Guardiola's champions endeavoured to end the Blues' seven-game winning streak on the road.
Chelsea - under the tutelage of Frank Lampard at the time - started on the right foot and almost took the lead through Fikayo Tomori's lashed effort, and they ultimately broke the deadlock through the unlikeliest of sources in N'Golo Kante, who latched onto Mateo Kovacic's long ball before managing to poke it home.
However, City were back on level terms only eight minutes later, as former Blue Kevin De Bruyne cut inside before firing an effort through a sea of Chelsea bodies, although a significant deflection off Kurt Zouma's outstretched leg wrong-footed Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Guardiola's men soon began to assume control of the tie and were in the ascendancy with 37 minutes on the clock, as a City counter-attack ended with Riyad Mahrez's left-footed effort curling into the far corner through the legs of Tomori.
Much-maligned goalkeeper Kepa nearly presented Sergio Aguero with the opportunity to make it three before half time, but the Argentine crashed his effort against the woodwork after Kepa's awful attempt at a clearance.
Ederson had to be alert to tip over a late half-volley from Willian, but City ultimately prevailed in front of the Etihad crowd before things took a turn for the worse.
4. Chelsea 2-1 Man City (25 June, 2020)
A game fondly remembered by Liverpool fans but despised by the Man City faithful, Chelsea welcomed Guardiola's men to the Etihad knowing that a draw would have been enough to end City's title challenge.
An episode of dreadful communication between Benjamin Mendy and Ilkay Gundogan following a City free kick allowed Christian Pulisic to skip past both players in the 36th minute, and the American proceeded to calmly finish into the far corner when one-on-one with Ederson.
As he has done so often against his old employers, De Bruyne restored parity for City on the 55-minute mark with a sumptuous free kick, but the celebrations were relatively muted as the visitors knew that another three points would only delay Liverpool's coronation that little while longer.
A rapid City counter-attack so nearly saw the game turned on its head, but Raheem Sterling's chipped effort came back out off the post before Kyle Walker had to be on hand at the other end of the pitch with a heroic goal-line clearance to prevent Pulisic from doubling his tally.
Another goalmouth scramble in City's area ultimately led to VAR awarding Chelsea a penalty after Fernandinho's hand swipe earned him a deserved red card, and Willian made no mistake from the spot to send the Premier League trophy to Merseyside.
3. Chelsea 1-3 Man City (January 3, 2021)
Seeking revenge for their season-defining defeat in the capital during the summer, City kicked off the New Year at Chelsea during the earliest days of their remarkable 21-game unbeaten run across all competitions.
After surviving an early penalty scare following Rodri's tackle on Werner, City started to turn the screw and De Bruyne fired just wide of the post in the opening exchanges, but it was his fellow midfield maestro Gundogan whose powerful effort found the far corner in the 18th minute.
De Bruyne made his mark on the game only three minutes later, though, as the Belgian playmaker picked out Phil Foden in the Chelsea area, and the starlet's deft left-footed finish doubled the visitors' advantage with 21 minutes on the clock.
A sweeping City counter-attack in the 34th minute saw Sterling enjoy a clear run through on goal, but the Englishman was forced out wide by the relentless pressure of Kante behind him and ultimately struck the woodwork from a tight angle.
However, De Bruyne was on hand to crash home the rebound and put City three goals to the good before the half-time whistle blew, and not even an injury-time consolation from Callum Hudson-Odoi in the dying embers could dampen the spirits of the eventual champions.
2. Chelsea 1-0 Man City (April 17, 2021)
At a time where their pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple was still alive, City travelled south to meet Chelsea at Wembley in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, and they were fortunate not to be 1-0 down right from the off after Hakim Ziyech's goal was chalked off due to Werner being offside in the build-up.
After full-backs Ben Chilwell and Reece James had also spurned opportunities to break the deadlock, Chelsea went into the half-time interval wondering how the scoreline was still 0-0, but they got their reward in the 55th minute.
The Werner-Ziyech combination once again worked wonders as the former broke down the left-hand side before putting it on a plate for his teammate, and some questionable positioning from Zack Steffen allowed Ziyech to bundle home.
The fomer Ajax man so nearly doubled his side's advantage but Steffen redeemed himself with a crucial save from close in, and Pulisic thought that he had settled the tie after firing past Steffen, but the linesman's flag went up as the American was mid-knee slide.
De Bruyne being forced off would literally add injury to insult for City, whose pursuit of a four-trophy haul ended in despair, while Chelsea ultimately lost to Leicester City in the final.
1. Man City 1-2 Chelsea (May 8, 2021)
A few days after both sides had sealed their spots in the Champions League final, they took to the pitch in a dress rehearsal for the showpiece event, and City were still waiting to be crowned Premier League champions at this point.
A slow first half seemed destined to end goalless until the 44th minute, when Sterling stole the ball from Aguero after his team-mate's heavy touch to crash home the opener, and the Argentine would then make headlines for all the wrong reasons.
On the stroke of half time, Gabriel Jesus went down under a challenge from Billy Gilmour, and Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot. Aguero - the man who loves a goal against Chelsea - stepped up, but his laughable attempt at a Panenka failed to fool Mendy, who had started to move to the right before getting back on his feet and gathering calmly.
The talisman's miss would indeed prove costly, as in the 63rd minute of the encounter, Cesar Azpilicueta picked out Ziyech on the edge of the area, and Ederson could not keep out the Moroccan's powerful drive, despite getting a hand on it.
After Taylor waved away huge shouts for a City penalty following Zouma's challenge on Sterling, Werner managed to steer a low cross in from the right, and confusion between Marcos Alonso and Hudson-Odoi eventually led to the former's scuffed effort making the net ripple in added time.
body check tags ::
