Chelsea welcome Manchester City to Stamford Bridge in a blockbuster Super Sunday clash from the Premier League.
If Leicester lose at Newcastle in the first Super Sunday game, Chelsea can climb to third with victory whereas Man City could rise to fourth with a win.
Team News
Hakim Ziyech could return for Chelsea after a hamstring injury kept him sidelined in recent weeks.
Reece James however remains absent with a hamstring injury but could return in coming weeks.
Man City could welcome Eric Garcia back from a knock which saw the Spaniard miss their last four matches.
Ilkay Gundogan is also expected to be fit after suffering a knock during City’s Boxing Night win over Newcastle.
Ederson, Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus are all absent as they self-isolate following positive Coronavirus tests.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea have won just two of their last five league meetings against Manchester City (W2, L3).
- Man City have won just two of their last five league trips to Stamford Bridge (W2, L3).
- None of last ten league meetings have ended in a draw since a 1-1 draw in January 2015.
- No Chelsea players have been subbed more times than their two big summer signings, Kai Havertz (7) and Timo Werner (6) who has been benched 13 times in total between them.
- Kevin De Bruyne is the only City player to have hit the woodwork more than once this season, finding the posts and crossbar on three occasions in 13 league appearances.
Prediction
Chelsea put in a decent performance during their draw against Aston Villa last time out but ultimately poor finishing cost them, although there were promising signs and the absence of Ederson for City will give them extra motivation here.
City though will be relieved that losing just Ederson plus Walker and Jesus is the best case scenario although not ideal, because if likes of De Bruyne, Rodri or Raheem Sterling had tested positive then I wouldn’t give them much of a chance here against Chelsea’s quality.
Finishing though has been an issue for the Citizens all season in the league so I am expecting to see another tough contest, although if Frank Lampard’s Blues play with more intelligence and patience when upon goal then they should win this.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City
Result: Chelsea 1-3 Manchester City