Chelsea play Manchester City at home on Saturday in one of the most anticipated matches of the Premier League Season.
On the back of four wins in their first five games, Chelsea go into this game only dropping points in their draw with Liverpool at Anfield. Romelu Lukaku has smoothly integrated himself into the team, and already has the most goals for the blues, with 4 goals in 5 games. Defensively, Chelsea have been stunning, only conceding once so far this season.
Manchester City have produced a couple of stellar performances – winning 5-0 against both Arsenal and Norwich City – but last weekend’s 0-0 draw against Southampton hampered their form, and surprisingly they lost 1-0 at Tottenham. On rare occasions, City have looked a little unsettled in defence, with RB Leipzig netting three against them in the Champions League.
Injury Concerns
Edouard Mendy, Chelsea’s first-class keeper, may still be out with injury. He was replaced by Kepa for Saturday’s 3-0 win over Tottenham and wasn’t risked for the Carabao Cup tie against Aston Villa. Chelsea will hope that Mendy is fit for this game, as his presence provides Chelsea’s defence with a greater degree of confidence. Christian Pulisic is also another player that missed Wednesday night’s cup encounter, as he is still recovering from an ankle injury he sustained whilst on international duty.
Meanwhile, at Manchester City, there is a sense of worry as Pep Guardiola faces a growing injury crisis with Rodri, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Ilkay Gündogan all being potentially out of action this weekend. City will also be without Oleksandr Zinchenko due to a calf injury.
Prediction
With City’s injuries, Chelsea go into the match as slight favourites, perhaps inching one out against a strong City side. Look for Chelsea to attack early and often, with City attempting to break through their stellar defence.
Chelsea 1 – 0 Manchester City
