EPL Match Preview: Chelsea vs Manchester City

EPL Match Preview: Chelsea vs Manchester City

Two of this season’s title favourites clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. Here is our EPL match preview for Chelsea’s game against Manchester City.

The Season So Far

Chelsea go into this game on the back of four wins in their first five games. They have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season, only dropping points in their draw with Liverpool at Anfield. Romelu Lukaku has seamlessly integrated himself into the team and is already the team’s leading scorer with 4 goals in 5 games. The Blues have continued their defensive form from last season, only conceding once so far this season.

?"The impact he has had has been immense."

Cesar Azpilicueta and Thomas Tuchel believe Romelu Lukaku has started his 2nd Chelsea spell impressively. pic.twitter.com/lZUNQ4Z9Iv

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 14, 2021

Manchester City will be looking to put last weekend’s disappointing 0-0 draw against Southampton at the Etihad Stadium behind them. They have produced a couple of commanding performances, winning 5-0 against both Arsenal and Norwich City, but also surprisingly lost 1-0 at Tottenham. At times, City have looked a little unsettled in defence, conceding 3 times against RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

? "It was a tight game, we were not confident in our build-up."

Pep Guardiola on Manchester City's struggles in their 0-0 draw with Southampton pic.twitter.com/tIO3XfoBT0

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 18, 2021

Injury Concerns

Chelsea have got potential injury concerns over their first choice keeper, Edouard Mendy. He was replaced by Kepa for Saturday’s 3-0 win over Tottenham and he won’t be risked for the Carabao Cup tie against Aston Villa. Thomas Tuchel will hope that Mendy is fit for this game, as his presence in the team provides his defence with a greater degree of reassurance. Christian Pulisic is also another player that will miss Wednesday night’s cup encounter, as he is still recovering from an ankle injury he sustained whilst on international duty.

Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has now made 50 appearances for Chelsea having reached the milestone in the Champions League win over Zenit pic.twitter.com/xvv1ycG7Qt

— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) September 18, 2021

Pep Guardiola is facing a mounting injury crisis with Ilkay Gündogan, Rodri, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones all being potentially absent this weekend. Manchester City will be without Oleksandr Zinchenko who misses out with a calf injury. This leaves City with only Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo as recognised full backs available for a tough run of fixtures. Pep has confirmed to Sky Sports that he will have to field a number of youth team players against Wycombe Wanderers in their Carabao Cup tie.

Pep Guardiola says a mounting injury list means he has no choice but to field a number of young players in Tuesday's Carabao Cup third-round tie with Wycombe.#bbcfootball #mcfc

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 20, 2021

Match Prediction

Chelsea go into the game as slight favourites, especially if Manchester City are missing Laporte and Stones at the back. Gündogan would also be a significant absentee to the line-up and his injury would have a sizeable loss to the team. Romelu Lukaku has returned to Chelsea in fantastic form and looks to be a real handful for any defence. As the season progresses it will be interesting to see how Pep handles not having a recognised goal-scorer in his squad and in big games like this it could seriously impact their title aspirations.

Chelsea to win 2-1.

? Most clean sheets in Europe's big 5 leagues – since Tuchel's first Chelsea game.

??????? Chelsea – 23
??????? Manchester City – 16
?? Sevilla – 15
?? Monaco – 15
?? Lille – 14
??????? Manchester United – 14 pic.twitter.com/M4UBTKB9uu

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 15, 2021

We hope you enjoyed the article ‘EPL Match Preview: Chelsea vs Manchester City.’ Do you agree with our prediction? Who do you think is going to win on Saturday? Let us know your thoughts!

Read more on football below:

• The Premier League Golden Boot Race
• The Most Exciting Premier League Season Ever?
• The Best French Football Players Ever