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Manchester City vs Chelsea: EPL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction
On Saturday night, Manchester City will host Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in a Premier League matchup that promises to be a belter.
Previous Matches and Head to head
Manchester City is under a great deal of strain today, starting with the hosts, who had another public breakdown earlier in the week. Pep Guardiola's team may exhibit some genuine symptoms of a hangover after blowing a two-goal lead in Paris on Wednesday night before losing 4-2 in a thrilling match.
The former Barcelona manager has seen his team develop a reputation for their obvious defensive problems, which has caused them to crash back down to earth in midweek and severely hurt their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
Even though they easily defeated relegation-threatened Ipswich 6-0 on the road last weekend, Man City has only kept two clean sheets against elite opponents since defeating Nottingham Forest 3-0 on December 4. Guardiola's team will be put through a rigorous test here, even though they won 2-0 when they visited Stamford Bridge on the first weekend.
Regarding the visitors, Chelsea will want to capitalize on their performance from Monday night, which was a much-needed Premier League lift. After defeating relegation-threatened Wolves 3-1, Enzo Maresca's team eventually found a way back into the Champions League positions.
The former Leicester boss will be urging his team to find some vital defensive steel in order to finally end their five-match losing streak. The visitors have only kept one clean sheet in their previous nine Premier League games, dating back to a 3-0 thumping of Aston Villa on December 1st.
They ended 2024 with a shocking 2-0 defeat away to Ipswich. Similarly, Chelsea's weak defense may have serious challenges today after managing only one domestic clean sheet away from Stamford Bridge in the previous four months.
Manchester City x Chelsea Team News
Midfield hero Rodri is still out with a long-term knee injury and will likely miss the rest of the season. Equally questionable for this weekend is Dutch defender Nathan Ake, who was ruled out of Wednesday's away game against PSG due to a muscle injury.
This match will be spearheaded by Erling Haaland, who scored a consolation goal in midweek and has now scored five goals in as many outings across all competitions. The first start for England international John Stones since December 21st is possible.
Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Levi Colwill, and French defender Wesley Fofana will all be absent for Chelsea due to ongoing injuries. On Monday night, however, captain Reece James will continue to play at right back after making his Premier League debut since the beginning of November.
Trevor Chalobah, who was returned from his loan term with Crystal Palace, will start at center back for Chelsea and will want to make an early impression. Cole Palmer, a one-time prospect for Manchester City, will be an integral part of the Etihad attack after scoring 14 goals in the Premier League this season.
Our Predictions
Goal to be scored in both halves @ 1.60 on Sky247.ng
Manchester City may display symptoms of a hangover here after experiencing another notorious collapse earlier in the week, ultimately losing 4-2 in Paris. At the Etihad, Guardiola's squad could face another tough test as they persist in displaying some persistent defensive flaws. Even though they went into Saturday's match at Stamford Bridge with a 2-0 lead, the Sky Blues may face some tough questions from Chelsea.
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