Chelsea vs Man City: preview, team news, how to watch and prediction

Chelsea will welcome Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

After enduring a dire campaign last term, the Blues have struggled to showcase their best this season as well, sitting 10th in the league with 15 points from 11 games.

However, Chelsea will be coming into this game off the back of a 4-1 victory over their city rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Mauricio Pochettino’s side found themselves trailing early into the game, but they eventually managed to fight back thanks to Nicolas Jackson’s hat-trick. Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were shown red cards in that game – which eased Chelsea’s task a bit to come away with all three points from the newly renovated White Hart Lane.

So, they will feel confident ahead of this encounter, however, facing off against Man City is always a huge challenge.

After a hat-trick of Premier League title wins, the Citizens have enjoyed a brilliant start in this season as well. They won the first six games of the league this term but found themselves in a spot of bother after losing back-to-back games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal.

However, they have managed to win three consecutive matches since and have now placed themselves at the summit of the table with 27 points from 11 games. So, they are on course to mount yet another title charge this term.

Previous meetings

Man City have been dominant in this fixture in recent times as they have won the last six consecutive encounters in all competitions against the Blues since losing in the Champions League final. So, Chelsea will be desperate to come away victorious on Sunday to break their winning drought versus the Citizens.

How to watch

The match will begin at 4:30 pm UK time and the encounter will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Ultra HD in the UK.

Official club channels have already sold out their ticket allocation for the game. However, match-going fans can still buy Chelsea vs Man City tickets at trusted reseller sites such as seatsnet.com.

Team news

Chelsea have a long list of injury absentees at the moment as Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah and Carney Chukwuemeka are all currently sidelined for an extended period due to their respective issues. So, they aren’t in contention to feature in this game.

In addition to that, Ben Chilwell and Romeo Lavia are also set to miss out owing to injury issues. Lavia hasn’t been able to make his debut for the Blues yet after joining the club last summer and it remains to be seen when he will be able to play for his new club.

After sustaining a knee issue during the pre-season, Christopher Nkunku has been sidelined over the last few months. It has been reported that the Frenchman has stepped up his recovery to make his return, but this game will come too early for him to feature. Armando Broja has also been struggling with an injury in recent weeks so he is in doubt ahead of this encounter.

As for Man City, John Stones is set to remain sidelined for a foreseeable amount of time having sustained an injury in the Champions League encounter against Young Boy in midweek.

After playing a pivotal role in Man City’s treble-winning campaign last term, the defender was sidelined for several weeks during the early stages of this season due to injury and having just returned to full fitness, he has now suffered yet another issue so his unavailability will be a huge loss for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Kevin de Bruyne has been sidelined due to a hamstring issue since the beginning of this season and he isn’t anywhere close to returning yet. So, he is not in contention to feature this weekend.

Sergio Gómez has also been struggling with an issue and he is set to remain sidelined against Chelsea. Manuel Akanji is in doubt due to a back issue but he might be able to feature in this encounter.

Predicted line-up

Pochettino has been using the 4-2-3-1 formation this season and it’s likely to be the same this weekend. Robert Sanchez is set to continue between the sticks for the Blues, while Reece James, Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva and Levi Colwill should be the back four.

Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo could start in the double pivot position, pushing Conor Gallagher into the attacking midfield role. Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmar could commence on the flanks against their former club, while Jackson should lead the line for Chelsea after a brilliant display last time out.

Expected Chelsea line-up against Man City

Sanchez; James, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Fernández, Caicedo, Gallagher; Sterling, Jackson, Palmer

Pep Guardiola is likely to deploy the 3-2-4-1 formation and it’s always hard to predict the Spaniard’s starting eleven. However, Ederson should keep hold of his place in goal for the Citizens.

Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake could commence in the fullback position, while Ruben Dias should be at the heart of City’s defence.

Akanji could start in midfield alongside Rodri with Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden set to commence on the flanks. Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva should be in the attacking midfield position, while Erling Braut Haaland would be leading the line for the Citizens.

Expected Man City line-up vs Chelsea

Ederson; Walker, Días, Ake; Akanji, Rodri; Doku, Álvarez, Silva, Foden; Haaland

Key players

Sterling and Palmer are expected to be extra motivated to showcase their best against their former club. Jackson’s pace could create trouble for Man City’s high line, however, Guardiola’s side have been immaculate defensive in recent years. So, it won’t be easy for the African to come out on top against the visitor’s defence.

Fernández and Caicedo will be key in this game as they will have to be dominant with the ball in order to control the game and keep the Citizens’ threat away from their defence. However, it won’t be easy to do that.

Gallagher’s high energy will help the Blues to press the opposition high up the field and create turnovers in dangerous positions.

As for Man City, Haaland is their main goal-scorer and Chelsea will have to keep him quiet to come away with a positive result from this encounter.

Rodri is the mainstay of Guardiola’s system and Chelsea will have to find a way to keep him away from the action as much as possible.

Doku is in superb form after arriving at the club this summer and the responsibility will be on him to create chances for fellow attackers.

Prediction

Man City will be coming into this game as a huge favourite and it will be extremely difficult for Chelsea to stop the Citizens from taking all three points. So, Guardiola’s side are likely to win the game on Sunday and continue their unbeaten run against the West London club. Chelsea 0-2 Man City