Manchester City Vs Chelsea : Tactics ,Squad News and Predictions

Premier League Gameweek 20 features a high-profile clash at the Etihad Stadium as third-place Manchester City host fifth-place Chelsea, with 11 points separating the sides.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has his squad positioned for a familiar second-half title push as they look to close a seven-point gap on league leaders Arsenal.

Chelsea enters under interim leadership following the dismissal of Enzo Maresca a few days ago, with U-21 coach Calum McFarlane set to take charge.

The Blues will aim to steady their form as they continue their pursuit of a top-four finish.

The Blues have not defeated Pep Guardiola’s men since the 2021 Champions League final, an 11-match run which City are favourites to extend against the manager-less visitors.

Chelsea have 30 points from their 19 matches so far.

They’ve reached that tally with eight wins, six draws, and five defeats.

However, they’ve struggled a little more in recent weeks, winning just one of their last seven league games.

Four of their wins have come away from home, beating West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Spurs, and Burnley on the road.

City has won 13 games, lost 4, and drawn 2 in nineteen matches played this season.

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Tactics

Chelsea almost exclusively play 4-2-3-1, although that could of course come into question given the departure of manager Enzo Maresca this week.

Manchester City’s playing style under Pep Guardiola is evolving but remains rooted in possession, positional play, and high pressing.

Recently, the team has added more directness and verticality, using long passes and quick transitions to exploit space against intense pressing, while deploying fluid formations such as 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 with inverted full-backs and creative players like Foden, Haaland, and new signings to create overloads and launch rapid attacks.

Squad News

Moises Caicedo is unavailable as he serves a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Bournemouth.

Chelsea hope to have Marc Cucurella back from injury when they play Manchester City today.

Andrey Santos or right-backs Reece James or Malo Gusto could come in to midfield to partner Enzo Fernandez in a double pivot, assuming McFarlane sets Chelsea up in the same 4-2-3-1 formation that Maresca preferred during his 18-month tenure.

Estevao Willian was Chelsea’s best player against Bournemouth and is pushing for another start, but McFarlane may trust the more experienced Pedro Neto on the right flank instead.

This might be the first eleven to play against City.

Sánchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Fernández, James; Neto, Palmer, Garnacho; João Pedro

Manchester City have a host of players unavailable for today’s match due to injury and international duty.

There are several more who are in doubt due to knocks they picked up in Manchester City’s nil-all draw with Sunderland.

Mateo Kovacic, John Stones, and Oscar Bobb are expected to be out of today’s match due to injury.

Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri are unavailable due to their participation at the African Cup of Nations.

Savinho is an unlikely participant in today’s match due to the injury he sustained against Sunderland. Pep Guardiola said his injury didn’t look good so it is expected that he will miss today’s match.

The predicted squad will be Donnaruma, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Gvardiol, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Tijjani Reijnder,s and Phil Foden.

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Predictions

It is going to be a tough ask for Chelsea to get anything away at Man City, given the form of both sides at present. Though under Maresca, the Blues had proven they could get up for the so-called ‘bigger games’.

Man City wins: 68
Chelsea wins: 71
Draws: 41

Man City vs. Chelsea Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)