Manchester City will take on Chelsea as they travel to Stamford Bridge on Thursday looking to close the gap between league leaders Arsenal. The Sky Blues come into the match on the back of a lacklustre 1-1 draw against Everton, so they will be looking to produce a better performance in this away encounter. On the other hand, the Blues recorded a similar result against Nottingham Forest, so they will be hungry to take all three points from this contest.
Pep Guardiola will probably return to the more conventional 4-3-3 formation and is expected to make a couple of changes to the starting XI for this fixture. Jack Grealish will make way for Phil Foden as he drops to the bench. Erling Haaland will continue to lead the charge up top with his rich run of form.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted XI Vs Chelsea
Defence
Ederson Moraes will continue to operate in between the sticks looking to secure a clean sheet after conceding a goal in the last outing. Manuel Akanji will form the customary centre-half partnership with John Stones at the heart of City’s backline.
Nathan Ake will continue at the left-back position, whereas Joao Cancelo will fill in on the other flank as the right-back as Rico Lewis takes a spot on the bench. The full-backs will be expected to stretch the opposition and keep their shape defensively.
Aymeric Laporte and Sergio Gomez would have to provide cover from the bench as they wait for an opportunity to feature in the latter half of the game.
Midfield
Rodri will continue in the holding midfield position; he’ll be tasked with shielding the backline and distributing possession to his teammates proficiently.
Kevin De Bruyne remains a guaranteed starter at the central midfield position while Ilkay Gundogan keeps his place in the middle of the park. The duo would be determined to set up some clear-cut goal-scoring chances for the front three making forward runs into the opposition backline.
Attack
Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva will take up the wide positions, playing on the left and right wing respectively, trying to cut inside and create chances in front of the goal.
Erling Haaland will continue to lead the charge for the Etihad club in this midweek encounter. The Norwegian international will pick up on his excellent run of form trying to find the back of the net once again after netting one the last time out.
Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish will take a spot on the bench as they wait for an opportunity to impress in the second half.
