Chelsea vs Man City LIVE: Team news as Pep Guardiola’s side look to capitalise on Arsenal loss in Premier League title race

(REUTERS)

Manchester City will look to translate cup success into the Premier League title race as they travel to Chelsea this afternoon, aiming to capitalise on Arsenal’s shock home defeat to Bournemouth yesterday.

City curtailed the Gunners’ quadruple hopes before the international break by pipping them to the Carabao Cup, rocking Mikel Arteta’s side to such an extent that they then crashed out of the FA Cup to Championship side Southampton two weeks later.

Arsenal have now failed to steady the ship after in the league, losing 2-1 to the Cherries in just their second home defeat of the season, and there is newfound belief that City’s nine-point deficit on the league leaders could quickly be chipped away at, with next weekend’s title clash likely to prove pivotal.

But if Pep Guardiola’s side are going to complete a remarkable turnaround at the top, they need to avoid any more slip-ups and will hope to make no mistake against Liam Rosenior’s struggling Chelsea side, who before last weekend’s FA Cup thrashing of Port Vale had lost four on the bounce.

Enzo Fernandez apologises to Chelsea for Madrid comments – but still has ‘hurdles to overcome’

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has cast further doubt on Enzo Fernandez’s future by admitting a “few hurdles” need to be overcome to resolve the midfielder’s situation, despite the Argentinian apologising for his comments on a potential move to Real Madrid.

“I had three or four (conversations) with Enzo,” said Rosenior. “He’s apologised to me, he’s apologised to the club, and we’ll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday.”

Asked about the talks with Fernandez, the manager continued: “It’s a serious meeting about something very serious that Enzo has said.

“Every single step along this way, I’m not questioning Enzo’s character, I’m not questioning who he is as a person.

“I believe people make mistakes and you can’t overstep the punishment for the mistake. We’ve made a sanction, I made a decision, and what I want from Enzo is to go on here and have an outstanding career.

“He won’t play on Sunday but hopefully after that he will be a massive part of the group moving forward.

“There are still are few hurdles that need to be overcome that I won’t go into, but at the same time I want every player really, really focused on a huge run-in.”

Liam Rosenior said things are not what people think between him and Enzo Fernandez (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Wire)

Will Castle12 April 2026 14:07

Live coverage of Sunderland vs Tottenham

Before today’s late kick-off at Stamford Bridge, Roberto De Zerbi will begin his bid to save relegation-threatened Tottenham as they face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, with kick-off (2pm BST) just moments away.

De Zerbi took the reins following Igor Tudor’s winless 44-day reign of error, with Tottenham in the thick of a relegation battle. West Ham’s win over Wolves on Friday night means their London rivals start the day in the bottom three.

The Italian will need to flip the club’s fortunes and fast but it is not yet clear whether he has the complete backing of the fanbase due to his historic comments surrounding Mason Greenwood, controversy he did address in his first interview as Tottenham boss.

He will hope to justify the board’s decision to hand him a lucrative five-year contract swiftly but face tough opposition in Sunderland, who come into the clash off the high of a Tyne-Wear derby win at St James’s Park.

If you’re after all the latest build-up for Chelsea vs Manchester City, you’re already in the right place. But if you’d like to stay abreast with all the happenings in De Zerbi’s Tottenham bow, you can follow all the action in our live blog below:

Will Castle12 April 2026 13:59