- The Manchester City vs Chelsea match will start at 8:30 PM EAT on Saturday.
The battle for a top four finish in the 2024/2025 Premier League campaign hots up this weekend when Manchester City host Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium.
The two clubs will be aiming to gather the maximum points in the game that is scheduled to be played on Saturday night in order to increase their chances of securing a top four finish at the end of the season,
Chelsea, who have shown an improvement since the appointment of Italian manager Enzo Maresca, travel to Manchester days after securing a commanding 3-1 win over a relegation-threatened Wolves side.
The Blues scored their goals through Tosin Adarabioyo, Noni Madueke and Spanish defender Marc Cucurella while Matt Doherty found the back of the net for Wolves.
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The well-deserved victory increased Chelsea’s tally to 40 points, 10 less than league leaders Liverpool FC, who have a game in hand.
Similar to Chelsea, Manchester City were also victorious in their most recent domestic tie. The Pep Guardiola charges hammered Ipswich town 6-0 in a game where England midfielder Phil Foden shone.
Foden, who has struggled to impress this season, scored two beautiful goals with Jeremy Doku, Mateo Kovacic, James McAtee and Erling Haaland also putting their names in the score sheet.
However, a few days after the win, the Citizens bottled a 2-0 lead to suffer a 4-2 defeat to French giants PSG in an epic UEFA Champions League tie.
The painful defeat has decreased Manchester City’s chances of qualifying for the next round of the competition.
The multiple Premier League champions occupy the 25th position at the moment in the Champions League standings with eight points from seven matches.
The disappointing performance in Paris has made their final group fixture against Club Brugge to be a must win one since anything less than that may make them exit the tournament.
Here are the key facts you need to grasp ahead of the upcoming match.
What time does Manchester City vs Chelsea start?
The crunch game is planned to start at 8:30 PM East African Time (EAT) on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City vs Chelsea Team News
The visitors are expected to be without the trio of Benoit Badiashile (thigh), Romeo Lavia (muscle) and Ukrainian international Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension).
Furthermore, Wesley Fofana is still nursing a hamstring injury while the availability of Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez (muscle) and Levi Colwill (unspecified) is not guaranteed.
On the other hand, Manchester City will miss the services of Rodri (ACL) and Oscar Bobb (unspecified).
The involvement of their reliable defender Ruben Dias also hangs in balance since the Portuguese international failed to complete the midweek match against PSG.
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Despite their backline having some problems, Manchester City’s attack is expected to be boosted by the arrival of Omar Marmoush, who has been signed in the January transfer window.
Possible Starting Lineups
Manchester City: Ortega, Gvardiol, Stones, Akanji, Ake, Kovacic, Bernardo, Foden, Marmoush, Savinho, Haaland
Chelsea: Sanchez, Cucurella, Tosin, Colwill, Gusto, Caicedo, Dewsbury-Hall, Palmer, Madueke, Sancho, Jackson
Manchester City vs Chelsea Head-to-head
Chelsea and Manchester City have battled it out five times in all competitions since 2023 with the latter picking up three wins. The rest of the fixtures ended in a draw.
The Citizens triumphed in the latest encounter between the two sides that was played at the Stamford Bridge Stadium in August thanks to two unanswered goals from Haaland and Kovacic.
Manchester City: 3
Draws: 2
Chelsea: 0
Manchester City vs Chelsea Current Form (all competitions)
Manchester City: WWDWL
Chelsea: LDWDW
Manchester City vs Chelsea Predictions
Although the two clubs have not shown consistency in their recent matches, Manchester City are expected to shine in this tie since they will be playing in the home Stadium.
However, Chelsea should not be ruled out of returning to London with all the three points because they have quality players.
Therefore, football fans should get ready to watch an end to end football match that is likely to end with both sides creating several goal scoring chances.
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