Chelsea will entertain the reigning Premier League champions, Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon as they look to secure all three points in front of their home supporters. Both teams managed to ensure qualification into the next round of the EFL Cup in midweek. Hence, we can expect an entertaining contest between the two title contenders as both sets of players will fancy their chances of success this weekend.
Talking Tactics
Thomas Tuchel could tweak his formation a little and go for a 3-5-2 setup for this game. The German tactician will ask his players to keep a solid defensive shape at the back and create enough chances for Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz to win this top-of-the-table clash.
Pep Guardiola will opt for a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to name his strongest XI this weekend. The Spanish head coach will instruct his men to dominate possession so that they can engineer enough goal-scoring opportunities to secure maximum points away at Stamford Bridge.
Team News
Chelsea
Both Christian Pulisic and Edouard Mendy are major doubts for this game and will be in a race against time to be fit on Saturday. Otherwise, Tuchel has no fresh injury concerns ahead of this game.
Chelsea Predicted XI
Mendy, Christensen, Silva, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Lukaku, Havertz
Manchester City
Guardiola will be sweating on the fitness of Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Oleksandr Zinchenko heading into this weekend. This match will come too early for both John Stones and Aymeric Laporte as they are still sidelined with injuries.
Manchester City Predicted XI
Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Cancelo, Gundogan, Rodri, Silva, De Bruyne, Grealish, Torres
Key Men
Chelsea
Romelu Lukaku will once again act as Chelsea’s most potent weapon in the final third. The Belgian international will be expected to score if the Blues are to come out on top this Saturday. The performance of Kante, Jorginho and Kovacic at the centre of the park could very well end up determining the fate of this contest.
Manchester City
If Man City wants to grab all three points on the road, Kevin De Bruyne will have to play an influential role in the opposition half. Both Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias will have to find a way to neutralise the threat of Havertz and Lukaku on the counter.
Odds
The bookmakers can hardly split the two teams as both Chelsea and Man City are priced at 13/8 to collect maximum points at the English capital. The draw has been listed at 17/10, which could be a smart bet considering the defensive record of both sides so far this season.
