Man City vs Chelsea
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Kick off: 5PM
Champions-elect Manchester City head into today’s Premier League home match against Chelsea brimming with confidence following their back-to-back wins against Arsenal, the first of which clinched them the EFL Cup.
With one piece of silverware in the bag, Pep Guardiola’s side will be keen to secure a win against a top-four rival so they can take another important step towards clinching the title.
When playing to their full potential, City under Guardiola are nigh on unbeatable, and they certainly looked that way while wiping the floor with Arsenal, first at Wembley Stadium in front of more than 85,000 supporters, and then at the Emirates just days later.
Although the Gunners’ recent problems are well documented, those consecutive 3-0 triumphs said more about City’s prowess across the pitch than Arsene Wenger’s woes.
Guardiola’s men have lost just once in the league all season, a 4-3 reverse at Liverpool in January, and have gone five games unbeaten in the competition since then.
The Sky Blues’ home record is stellar, winning 13 in a row at the Etihad Stadium and scoring at least twice in each of those matches. One more victory on the spin would equal the Premier League record set by Liverpool.
City may be the toughest side to beat in England, but they have leaked more goals than usual of late, keeping just two clean sheets in the last nine home games.
That is something Antonio Conte and Chelsea must attempt exploit, but the Blues should be aware that City tend to raise their game when playing against Premier League champions. They have won all of their last five home fixtures against title holders.
The in-form Sergio Aguero is the player to watch for them, more so than usual, as the Argentine hitman has five goals in his last four matches against Chelsea.
There is talk of a crisis at Chelsea, to the extent that many are tipping Conte with the Stamford Bridge exit, less than one season after he lifted the league title.
That is what three defeats in the last four home matches does to a club which suffered the same number of losses during the previous 23 games.
Last time out, they went down 2-1 at Manchester United, but heavy defeats to Bournemouth and Watford have raised questions about the Blues, although a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the Champions League has since restored pride.
Man City possible starting lineup: Ederson, Zinchenko, Danilo, Kompany, Otamendi, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Silva, Bernardo, Sane, Aguero.
Chelsea possible starting lineup: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Moses, Fabregas, Kante, Alonso, Willian, Morata, Hazard.