Chelsea welcome Manchester City to Stamford Bridge in a blockbuster clash between two title contenders to kick off the latest Premier League action.
Victory will see Chelsea stay top whereas Man City themselves could go top with a win, although City would need Manchester United to lose elsewhere.
Team News
Edouard Mendy is a doubt for Chelsea after missing the Blues’ last two matches with a knock suffered during their Champions League win over Zenit St Petersburg.
Christian Pulisic (ankle) could also feature if he is declared match fit as Thomas Tuchel prepares to again rotate his squad after scraping through Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash against Aston Villa on penalties.
Man City could be without Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri due to knocks which forced the trio to sit out Tuesday’s comeback Carabao Cup victory over Wycombe Wanderers.
John Stones (muscle) and Aymeric Laporte (groin) are doubts but Benjamin Mendy remains absent for personal reasons.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea have won two of their last five league meetings against Man City (W2, L3), with both wins coming through 2-1 results in June 2020 and May 2021.
- Man City have won just two of their last five league trips to Stamford Bridge (W2, L3).
- City’s Kevin De Bruyne has scored in his last two league appearances against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
- Romelu Luaku has created two big chances in four league appearances for Chelsea this season compared to just one big chance in eight appearances a decade ago across 2011-12 season.
- Four of City’s 11 league goals in five matches so far this season have been scored by the Spanish trio of Ferran Torres (2), Rodri (1) and Aymeric Laporte (1).
Prediction
Despite making 10 changes in his outfield selection on Wednesday evening, Thomas Tuchel will be pleased to return to his preferred starting line-up who were just clinically dominant on the attack at Tottenham last weekend and I do expect more of the same here.
Man City meanwhile themselves made 10 changes in their midweek win over Wycombe which indicates how seriously they are taking this clash, although the line-up that started last weekend’s goalless draw against Southampton cannot afford to be uncharacteristically sloppy in attack if they’re to win here.
Either way, this is the toughest test yet for both teams because Chelsea are flying high on confidence and won their last three clashes against City since Tuchel arrived at Stamford Bridge, whereas City will be their usual dangerous selves so the first goal is key.
If Chelsea indeed score first then I do fancy them to go on to win this match otherwise I reckon it will be a draw if City can force that first goal and dig deep, simply because I can’t see Tuchel’s Blues not scoring here.
Prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Manchester City
Result: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City