Chelsea vs. Man City
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick off: 5:30pm
Chelsea are aiming to end their season on a high after being dethroned as Premier League champions, but they need to bounce back from last weekend’s first defeat since interim boss, Guss Hiddink, took over in December.
The West London outfit face a Manchester City side fresh from reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League, and Manuel Pellegrini’s men are hoping to strengthen their position in the top four with a win at Stamford Bridge in the late kickoff on Saturday.
Overall, it has been a disappointing season for Chelsea as they dropped out of contention for the Premier League crown months ago following a horrendous start that included just three wins in 16 games.
The Blues are in a more healthier 10th position in the table, but they suffered a wobble last weekend when they were beaten by Swansea City for the first time in the club’s history.
In a game where chances were created by Chelsea but not taken, it was Gylfi Sigurdsson who condemned the Blues to their first league defeat since the turn of the year by scoring the only goal of the game in the 25th minute.
Considering that the Blues have nothing to play for given that they are out of all cup competitions and the Champions League, thoughts may already be turning to next season when new manager Antonio Conte takes over, but they still have six games to play and are nine points off a European spot.
Pellegrini’s farewell season is unlikely to result in another Premier League title as his team are 15 points off the pace with six games left to play.
However, they are in contention to be crowned European champions as they managed to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The Citizens claimed a 3-2 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain by earning a 1-0 triumph in the quarter-final second leg at the Etihad Stadium in midweek.
Kevin De Bruyne, who scored in the first leg at Parc des Princes, netted the only goal of the game, helping City into the final four of the tournament for the first time in the club’s history.
City head into the game against Chelsea with the second-best attack in the league as they have scored 58 goals this season, with Sergio Aguero contributing 18 of them.
Chelsea possible starting lineup: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Baba Rahman, Fabregas, Mikel, Oscar, Loftus-Cheek, Pedro, Pato.
Manchester City possible starting lineup: Hart, Zabaleta, Otamendi, Mangala, Kolarov, Fernando, Toure, Navas, Silva, De Bruyne, Aguero.