Man City vs Chelsea Preview & Prediction | 2023-24 English Premier League
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THE FACTS
When is Man City vs Chelsea on and what time does it start? Man City vs Chelsea will take place on Saturday 17th February, 2024 – 17:30 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Man City vs Chelsea? Visit each club’s official website for the latest ticket information
What TV channel is Man City vs Chelsea on in the UK? Television rights for the Premier League in the UK are shared between Sky Sports, TNT Sports and Amazon Prime so it is worth checking their schedules for Man City vs Chelsea
Where can I stream Man City vs Chelsea in the UK? If Man City vs Chelsea is televised, then it can be streamed on either Sky Go, discovery+ or Amazon Prime Video depending on who is broadcasting the match
THE LOWDOWN
MAN CITY
Manchester City continued their fine form in midweek as the defending treble winners enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 defeat of a difficult to play against Copenhagen side in Denmark in the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie. Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva put City 2-1 up at half-time before a late clinching goal from Phil Foden.
That means they have enjoyed 11 successive victories in all competitions. Those wins have seen them win a trophy with the FIFA Club World Cup in December, move to a position where the Premier League title is now in their own hands, get through to the fifth round of the FA Cup and now have a comfortable lead in their first knockout round tie in the UEFA Champions League.
CHELSEA
Chelsea are extremely difficult to read with two and a half genuinely excellent performances in the last few weeks surrounding a 4-2 defeat at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, which is a lot more emblematic of their season as a whole. However, they do slowly seem to be stringing together a little bit of consistency.
That said, they were inconsistent within 90 minutes last week. In the first-half at Selhurst Park, they were lacklustre and went in at half-time a goal down to a Crystal Palace side under pressure. Their second-half, though, was genuinely relentless as they managed to steal all three points with two late goals in a 3-1 result that flattered Palace in the end.
THE TEAM NEWS
MAN CITY
Pep Guardiola has had the rare blessing of more or less a fully fit and available squad as Manchester City pick up the pace in the hunt for trophies but that is now no longer the case after Jack Grealish went down and was forced off against Copenhagen.
The Englishman will miss this weekend and Guardiola also confirmed that Josko Gvardiol would also be unavailable for the champions. Bernardo Silva is set to be 'assessed' ahead of the game after a knock in midweek, whilst Mateo Kovacic and Sergio Gomez will return.
PREDICTED XI (4-1-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji; Rodri; Foden, Alvarez, Nunes, Doku; Haaland
UNAVAILABLE: Gvardiol (Injured), Grealish (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Silva (Injured)
CHELSEA
Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who has been missing for a couple of months, is back available but did not say whether he would replace Djordje Petrovic in their starting eleven.
Both Malo Gusto and Levi Colwill have been assessed and are available after slight concerns in midweek, whilst both Thiago Silva and Carney Chukwuemeka have picked up fresh injuries that mean they are unavailable for this one.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Disasi, Colwill, Chilwell; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Gallagher, Jackson; Palmer
UNAVAILABLE: Fofana (Injured), Badiashile (Injured), Silva (Injured), James (Injured), Cucurella (Injured), Ugochukwu (Injured), Lavia (Injured), Chukwuemeka (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
THE PREDICTION
In November, the reverse fixture between these two contributed to the feeling that Manchester City were just not quite at it as they shared a 4-4 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. City are a controlling, suffocating side that do not quite have the same fluency and freedom of earlier iterations of Guardiola at City but they are a winning machine. That said, they have kept fewer clean sheets this season than normal and Chelsea, with their improved recent form headed up by Cole Palmer returning to the Etihad, will fancy their chances of at least scoring. City winning is to be expected but it should be a fun watch for the neutral.
TIP: MAN CITY TO WIN & OVER 2.5 GOALS
