Teams go head to head at The Etihad three weeks before Istanbul showdown
Manchester City will be looking to seal the 2020-21 Premier League title in a dress rehearsal of this season’s Champions League final when we welcome Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Three points will be enough or Manchester United failing to win at Aston Villa on Sunday will seal a fifth championship in 10 years.
Chelsea themselves have plenty to play for this weekend in terms of finishing in the top four and will also be wanting to open a gap between them and the chasing pack ahead of next weekend’s FA Cup final.
Team News
Pep Guardiola had no injuries going into our 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain midweek and didn’t make his first substitution until the final 10 minutes, suggesting the boss will have a fully fit squad for this weekend too.
Whether he utilises it remains anyone’s suggest as both managers may not want to show all their cards ahead of the bigger meeting between the two at the end of the month.
We are just below evens with the Justuk.club non gamstop betting sites to pick up all three points and wrap up the title on Saturday, but this game actually means more to the visitors.
Chelsea could fall out of the top four with defeat at the Etihad matched by a West Ham Untied victory over Everton the following day, which would also allow both Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool to get back into top four contention.
Thomas Tuchel’s side beat Real Madrid 24 hours after we had booked our place in the Champions League final, meaning they will have had 24 hours less to recover and prepare.
Mateo Kovacic was the only absentee from the Blues’ team midweek as they created chance after chance versus Real Madrid. However, their finishing left something to be desired.
Don’t expect Chelsea to create as many chances versus Ruben Dias, John Stones and co when they come up to Manchester this weekend. At the other end of the pitch, will Sergio Aguero get a recall?
Predicted XIs
Man City (4-3-3): Ederson; Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Olekzandr Zinchenko; Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne; Riyad Mahrez, Sergio Aguero, Phil Foden
Chelsea (3-5-2): Edouard Mendy; Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Reece James, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell; Kai Havertz, Timo Werner
Prediction
Although Thomas Tuchel has a big squad to rotate, I feel as though Chelsea have been in a lot more tighter games than us recently and I think that could have a toll on them heading into this weekend’s showdown.
Add on top of that the lesser time they have had to repair and prepare for this game and how bad their finishing has been both throughout the season and Wednesday night in particular.
Although the German coach has improved them at the back, I would expect whoever starts up front for us to see chances, whilst both Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden have been excellent in attack of late.
Prediction: Man City 2-1 Chelsea