Chelsea vs Manchester City – Match Preview

Chelsea and Manchester City meet on the opening weekend of the Premier League campaign at Stamford Bridge.

Here is all you need to know about Sunday’s showdown in the capital.

Chelsea vs Manchester City – Match Preview

Form

Chelsea: LWLLD

It’s been an unconvincing pre-season campaign for Chelsea and new head coach Enzo Maresca, with their tour of the United States and up-and-down experience. Three defeats and a draw with League One Wrexham hardly shapes as the ideal preparation, with the club’s sole victory a 3-0 success against Mexican outfit Club America.

There will be concern at the number of goals Chelsea have conceded over their summer schedule, including a 4-1 defeat to Celtic and 4-2 loss to this weekend’s opposition, as Erling Haaland helped himself to a hat-trick. Maresca’s task has been made more difficult by the sheer number of players on Chelsea’s books, with over 40 first-team players available for selection.

Chelsea will need to offload a large number of that bloated squad before the transfer deadline later this month and Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja, Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah and Ben Chilwell are all free to leave.

Maresca could hand debuts to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tosin Adarabioyo and Pedro Neto this weekend, who unlike their manager have Premier League experience. The latter could be an astute addition for Chelsea after recording nine assists in 18 league starts for Wolves last season, though his injury record is a concern.

Manchester City: LLDWD

Manchester City’s pre-season results have also been inconsistent, though Pep Guardiola has had to deal with the late returns of several international players. The Citizens opted to hand a number of big names, including Phil Foden, John Stones and Rodri, extended leave this summer after reaching the final of Euro 2024.

Guardiola has confirmed that Rodri will not feature this weekend in news that will cause some nerves for the City support. The Spaniard has not lost a Premier League game since February 5th 2023, a run of 49 fixtures. In his absence, City lost three of four league games in 2023/24.

Erling Haaland has been in the goals in pre-season, scoring five times, after not featuring in this summer’s international tournaments. The Norwegian is aiming to become just the third player, after Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry, to win three consecutive Premier League Golden Boots this season. He scored a hat-trick against Chelsea in pre-season and netted twice in this fixture last season.

City warmed up for this weekend with the first silverware of the season after beating Manchester United on penalties in the Community Shield last weekend.

Last Meeting

Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea, FA Cup semi-final, April 24th 2024

Manchester City bounced back from their Champions League elimination to Real Madrid to book their place in the FA Cup final.

Pep Guardiola’s team punished Chelsea for a number of missed chances as Bernardo Silva scored the decisive goal six minute from time. The Portugal midfielder converted from Kevin De Bruyne’s cross at Wembley, to earn redemption for his missed spot-kick in the midweek European exit to Real Madrid on penalties.

Predicted Lineups

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez, Dewsbury-Hall; Palmer, Jackson, Nkunku.

Man City: Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic, De Bruyne, Silva; Foden, Doku, Haaland.

Who is the referee?

Anthony Taylor.

What channel is Chelsea v Man City on?

A UK audience can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage starting at 4pm BST.

What time is kick off?

Kick-off is 4:30pm BST, Sunday August 18, 2024

Odds

Chelsea – 13/5

Draw – 3/1

Manchester City – 10/11

Read – Nine things we’re excited about this season

See more – Chelsea – Premier League Season Preview 2024/25

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