Chelsea vs City preview: Can Pochettino shock Guardiola?
Manchester City tavel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday to face Chelsea on matchday twelve of 2023–24 Premier league campaign.
No one knows exactly what The Citizens who sealed a last-16 Champions League place by winning Young Boys 3-0 in the midweek are to expect from Mauricio Pochettino’s inconsistent team, who beat nine-man Tottenham 4-1 on Monday.
However, the treble winners should be brimming with confidence heading into this blockbuster battle on Sunday, having defeated the Stamford Bridge team six times in all competitions without conceding a goal. The 2021 Champions League final was the last time Chelsea defeated a Pep Guardiola-led Manchester City squad.
Man City head onto the game on top of the Premier League, winning nine of their 11 matches this season and Chelsea have struggled to find their form under Mauricio Pochettino, currently 10th with 15 points from 11 games.
This season, the Blues have only won one of their six Premier League home games (against Luton Town in August). The Stamford Bridge side have lost eight Premier League games at home in 2023, which is the most in a single calendar year in their history.
Manchester City is far apart from Chelsea when it comes to form at home. In their last two matches at the Etihad, they have averaged one goal every 20 minutes, humiliating Bournemouth 6-1 thanks to a masterclass from Jeremy Doku who produced four assists in that game. The treble winners have scored 17 goals in five consecutive wins since losing against Arsenal.
CHELSEA vs Manchester City TEAM NEWS
With players like Mykhailo Mudryk and Reece James returning from injury, Pochettino has seen Chelsea’s injury crisis start to reduce. Armando Broja may play on Sunday following his following his return from a knee issue.
Trevoh Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka, Ben Chilwell, and Wesley Fofana are still out, but Levi Colwill should be available for selection after he was pulled at halftime against Tottenhamtham for a tactical reason. Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku are also getting close to returning.
Pep Guardiola’s team will be without John Stones due to another injury, but Manuel Akanji will be fit after training even though he pulled up in the warm-up on Tuesday.
Erling Haaland is also expected to start as after he recovered from his ankle knock to score two goals in midweek. Sergio Gomez and Kevin De Bruyne are still out but Doku, Bernardo Silva, and Julián Álvarez could all be back in the starting lineup for City after starting on the bench on Tuesday. Rodri was rested in midweek but is expected to start against Chelsea.
CHELSEA VS MANCHESTER CITY Time and venue
Kick-off date is Sunday 12th November, 2023
Kick-off time is 5:30pm
Venue is Stamford Bridge
Referee will be Anthony Taylor
Chelsea Predicted lineup:
Sanchez, James, Disasi, Silva, Colwill, Caicedo, Fernández, Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling, Jackson
Manchester City predicted lineup:
Ederson, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Walker, Rodri, Kovacic, Doku, Silva, Alvarez, Haaland
CHELSEA VS MANCHESTER CITY PREDICTION
Chelsea might have cruised passed Spurs in the London derby, but we cannot deny that it would have been a different story if not fir the red card. But this is a big opportunity for them to make a statement and announce that they are back.
Manchester City on the other hand have been in a fine form since after losing back to back games right before the last international break and anything less than 3points from this fixture will be considered a bad result for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Chelsea 0 vs Manchester City 2
See also: Why is Chelsea struggling despite huge spending on players?
