Predicted Starting Line-Up: Chelsea vs Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City return to Premier League duties this weekend against Chelsea on the horizon after advancing to the FA Cup semi-final last time out.

Pep Guardiola’s side brushed aside a faltering Liverpool outfit in a commanding 4-0 victory in the FA Cup quarter-final at the Etihad Stadium last week – keeping hopes of further silverware firmly alive and a semi-final clash against Southampton at Wembley in the offing.

City were in complete control from the outset and rarely looked troubled by Arne Slot’s side. Their dominance paid off in the 39th minute when Nico O’Reilly was brought down by Virgil van Dijk, earning a penalty. Erling Haaland stepped up and calmly converted, netting his 34th goal of the season to hand City a deserved lead.

Moments before the interval, Haaland struck again, rising to head home a pinpoint cross from Antoine Semenyo and put the hosts firmly in control.

From there, it was largely plain sailing. Semenyo added a deft chipped finish before Haaland completed his hat-trick, sealing an emphatic victory and booking City’s place in their second semi-final of the season.

Liverpool did threaten to give City something to think about in the 64th minute with Mohamed Salah lining up for a penalty to pull one back. A heroic save from James Trafford saw the hosts go through to the next round with the clean sheet intact.

Next up for Manchester City is a trip to Stamford Bridge, where they’ll face Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea. The west London Blues enter the fixture off the back of an emphatic 7-0 victory against League One side Port Vale. However, prior to that, they had lost all of their previous four matches – the last three of which they had gone without scoring.

For Manchester City, a potential Premier League title hangs in the balance. For Chelsea nothing matters more than potential UEFA Champions League qualification. Here’s how we predict Manchester City will line up against Chelsea!

Starting XI

Despite James Trafford’s cup heroics over the last two matches, Gianluigi Donnarumma is set to take back his place in goal for Premier League action. The Italian has spent the majority of the season hot on the heels of David Raya in the golden glove race as he sits on 11 clean sheets in 27 matches.

Trafford has been nothing short of brilliant in the cup competitions this season but for now, the pecking order is clear and Donnarumma will be keen to keep it that way and showing what he has to offer in the fixtures that remain.

Matheus Nunes has made himself as close to undroppable as possible this season having featured in 44 matches for City this season, five more than he has in a season in Manchester to date.

While many doubted his abilities to become a nailed on starter at the club, Pep Guardiola will be more than impressed with the 27-year-old’s performances this season as he has made the position his own.

Abdukodir Khusanov and Marc Guehi scarcely looked troubled in Saturday’s match-up against Liverpool and will have given Guardiola absolutely no reason to change a winning formula against a side who have struggled for goals in the league recently.

Khusanov has earned his plaudits recently with his previous critics beginning to realise exactly why Manchester City fans voted him as the clubs March player of the month.

Guehi has had an equally brilliant start to life at Manchester City, Saturday’s win was his fifth in a row against Liverpool. In the absence of Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias, a pairing of Guehi and Khusanov should still strike fear in even the world’s most seasoned attackers.

Rayan Ait-Nouri was limited to the bench for both of the last two matches but he has quickly become a fan favourite at the Etihad and for good reason. Ait-Nouri’s inclusion enables Nico O’Reilly to step into the midfield in a role that he has excelled in this season.

The Algerian full-back has struggled for consistent game time this season having missed gametime through injuries and the Africa Cup of Nations, a strong end to the season could give him the perfect platform to nail down a starting spot for next season.

Rodri may not have hit the levels that we’ve become used to this season, but even still he remains one of if not the best holding midfielder in the world.

The Spaniard has only missed one game since the last time City played Chelsea back in January, in that time the Blues have lost just once in the league highlighting the level of consistency that the Ballon D’or winner brings to the side.

Captain Bernardo Silva has been crucial to the side’s efforts this season, having featured in every single one of Manchester City’s Premier League fixtures so far this season. With this looking to be Bernardo’s final season in Manchester, he’ll be desperate to push his side over the line and claim yet another Premier League title from out of Arsenal’s grasp.

Partnering Bernardo, Nico O’Reilly continues to go from strength to strength this season across multiple positions. O’Reilly offers a level of physicality in the midfield that City has missed sorely at points over the last two seasons.

The 21-year-old has grabbed 14 goal involvements this season and his performance against Liverpool at the weekend was a perfect example of just how dominant he has been at both ends of the pitch in this campaign.

Antoine Semenyo has hit the ground running at the Etihad Stadium and grabbed his eighth goal and third assist in blue this season on the weekend. Where City once struggled for goal involvements from the wings, Semenyo has far surpassed expectations – helping to ease the reliance on Erling Haaland when it comes to goalscoring.

Semenyo has only scored once against Chelsea in six appearances but in the form he finds himself in, he’ll no doubt be confident of adding to that tally on Sunday.

Erling Haaland bagged his 12th City hattrick on Saturday in a dominant performance, the kind that fans have come to expect from the Norwegian. Haaland has six goal involvements in seven matches against Chelsea, a total that the hosts will no doubt be aware of going into this one.

After drawing criticism for a relative goal drought, Haaland will no doubt be keen to get back to his brilliant best. If his showing in the FA Cup quarter-final is anything to go by, it’ll be a long 90 minutes for the Chelsea defence.

Jeremy Doku may not have registered a goal or assist during his 62-minute outing against Liverpool but his performance still offered plenty of encouragement ahead of the clash with Chelsea.

The Belgian’s direct running and relentless dribbling caused problems throughout, and while the end product was missing on this occasion, his ability to stretch defences and create space could prove crucial for Manchester City in the upcoming fixture.

Starting XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, Ait-Nouri; Rodri, O’Reilly, Bernardo; Semenyo, Haaland, Doku

Substitutes: Trafford, Ake, Nico, Kovacic, Reijnders, Foden, Savinho, Cherki, Marmoush