Chelsea vs Manchester City: Match preview, predicted line-ups, team news and prediction | OneFootball

Chelsea welcome Manchester City to Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League’s matchday 32 biggest match-up.

Chelsea lost 3-0 at Everton last time out, while City were held to a 1-1 draw at relegation strugglers West Ham United.

Match preview

Chelsea’s hopes of Champions League qualification have received a boost, with a fifth-place finish now enough to secure qualification.

However, they could be four points behind fifth-placed Liverpool by before this clash, making victory crucial.

Chelsea are enduring a poor run of form, picking up just five points from their last six games, the third fewest in the Premier League during that period.

Their form against City is more concerning, winning one, drawing three and losing six of their last 10 meetings.

That said, the hosts have a chance of getting a positive result here.

Chelsea need to isolate City’s full-backs to expose their defensive frailties. They must also be cautious while pressing to stay compact defensively.

City are riding high on confidence after winning the Carabao Cup and dumping Liverpool out of the FA Cup. They need to build on that momentum to keep their league title hopes alive.

City’s form and recent record against Chelsea make them favourites for this clash.

City have collected 14 points from their last six fixtures — the same as leaders Arsenal. They are also unbeaten in their last four league away games.

City will dominate possession and look to draw out Chelsea’s press, exploiting the space by playing between the lines and through their wingers’ trickery.

Erling Haaland’s performance could be key for the Cityzens. He scored a hat-trick against Liverpool and has two goals in his last three games against the Blues.

Team news

Rosenior has confirmed that Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill and Reece James will be absent for this clash. Enzo Fernandez remains on club suspension despite apologising for ‘crossing a line‘.

City will be without Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias, while John Stones is doubtful.

Predicted line-ups

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Robert Sanchez, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Jorrel Hato, Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer, Estevao, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro.

Man City (4-2-3-1): Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matheus Nunes, Marc Guehi, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico O’Reilly, Jeremy Doku, Rodri, Antoine Semenyo, Bernardo Silva, Rayan Cherki, Erling Braut Haaland.

Prediction

We predict a 2-2 draw.

Stats from transfermarkt.com & whoscored.com