Manchester City begin their title defence with an away trip to Chelsea on Sunday.
Last season, Pep Guardiola’s men earned another championship, once again holding off the challenge of Arsenal.
Nobody really knows what to expect from Chelsea or indeed how new manager Enzo Maresca will manage his extremely, extremely bloated squad.
Match Preview
Man City recent form
The season hasn’t even started yet and Man City have already claimed silverware as they defeated Man Utd on penalties in the Community Shield last week.
In pre-season, Man City actually defeated Chelsea 4-2 in the United States.
They also lost against Celtic and Milan and drew versus Barcelona.
Man City injury news
Man City were recently rocked by a fresh injury concern as Oscar Bobb, who played a big part in pre-season matches, suffered a fractured leg. He’ll undergo surgery in Barcelona soon.
Rodri and Jack Grealish aren’t at full fitness but should be fine to feature.
Chelsea recent form
Chelsea’s pre-season was a mixed bag as they were defeated by Celtic, Man City and Real Madrid, while they drew against Inter and beat Club America.
Chelsea injury news
Reece James just has no luck when it comes to injuries and he has once again been ruled out for a while, this time due to a thigh issue. New signing Omari Kelltman and goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic are also out.
Pedro Neto is in line for his first appearance in a Chelsea shirt after his big-money move from Wolves.
Man City vs Chelsea – who is the referee and VAR?
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn
Fourth official: Darren England
VAR: Michael Salisbury
Assistant VAR: Dan Cook
Man City – Player to Watch?
After a few injury concerns last season, Erling Haaland will look to crack on and break the 30-goal mark in the Premier League again, starting the Golden Boot pursuit on Sunday.
Chelsea – Player to Watch?
This may not be for all-positive reasons, but there will be plenty of eyes on Enzo Fernandez on Sunday following the major squad fracture in the summer…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/news/chelsea-vs-manchester-city-preview-peps-title-defence-begins/5556
Author : editors@footballcritic.com (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-08-16 06:30:00
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