Manchester City will be up against the Premier League leaders Chelsea who will come visiting on Saturday. Chelsea are on a 7-match unbeaten streak and will provide a stiff test for Pep Guardiola and his boys who, despite being in the 3rd spot, have had issues of their own in recent weeks. While Chelsea have recovered well after struggling to find their rhythm. Conte has admitted that a 3-4-3 was his ‘Plan D’ but he won’t be complaining too much given that they have won the last 7 matches conceding just once.
KEY FACTS
- Pep Guardiola could become just the second Manchester City manager in the Premier League era to win his first meeting with Chelsea, following Roberto Mancini in 2009/10.
- Chelsea have won 11 games away at Manchester City in the Premier League which is their most against a team away from home in the competition’s history.
- Manchester City have won their last two Premier League meetings with Chelsea but they haven’t won three in succession against the Blues since the 2010/11 season.
- Manchester City have kept just two clean sheets in their 13 Premier League games under Pep Guardiola; only three sides have kept fewer shutouts so far this term.
The contrasting stats mirror the fact that no fixture between the two sides can be predicted from before and hence the added excitement of the match.
TEAM NEWS
MANCHESTER CITY
Pep Guardiola has said that Raheem Sterling who was a doubt with a knock has been passed fit for the match. Kevin de Bruyne, John Stones, David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan could earn recalls to the starting line-up with Yaya Toure likely to drop to the bench.
Vincent Kompany is a long-term absentee.
CHELSEA
Antonio Conte has revealed that there are doubts over one or two players but declined to disclose their names ahead of his side’s bid for an eighth successive win. He has named the same starting line-up for 7 consecutive games before this.
John Terry remains out with a buttock injury for 2-3 weeks more.
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
MANCHESTER CITY (4-1-4-1)
Bravo; Sagna, Otamendi, Stones, Kolarov; Fernandinho; Gundogan, Silva; De Bruyne, Sterling; Aguero
CHELSEA (3-4-3)
Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Alonso, Moses; Kante, Matic; Hazard, Costa, Pedro
KEY MEN
MANCHESTER CITY
SERGIO AGUERO
The Argentine has 4 goals in his last 2 matches against Chelsea and will look to add to his recent tally against the Blues. He is joint with Diego Costa at the top of the pile of goal scorers and there will be a personal battle brewing between the two as well.
CHELSEA
DIEGO COSTA
The Spaniard has burst into life under Conte after strong rumours suggested that he was set for an exit in the summer. He carried them through the first phase as Antonio Conte took the time to settle down in London and has retained his sharpness and will be one of the players to watch out for tomorrow.
BETTING ODDS
MANCHESTER CITY- 23/20
DRAW- 13/5
CHELSEA- 13/5
