I think City will win this as I just do not see how Chelsea defensively can keep them quiet on their ground and the way they pass and move it. Marcos Alonso plays as a No 10 and will be bombing forward, while David Luiz will either be a 9/10, or a 3/10! I would be shocked if Chelsea got anything from this game. However, despite being top of the league, City are still vulnerable, they are not like they were last season. You could see that against Arsenal last weekend as when they equalised, they were comfortable and looked the better team, but they just did not have enough. Chelsea have got more than Arsenal and it will be a hard game for City, but I just think that defensively, Chelsea can't be relied upon. They let in four at Bournemouth recently and if they fall behind, I just do not see them coming back, they do not have that in them.
Manchester City went back to the top of the Premier League table after they beat Everton 1-0 away on Wednesday. Chances are Liverpool will reclaim top spot on Saturday when hosting Bournemouth, but City can get back to the top with victory over Chelsea. They have won 12 out of 13 home league games this season with a goal difference of +32 and 43 goals scored. Chelsea won well against Huddersfield at the weekend but that's to be expected considering the Yorkshire side are bottom of the table. Before that, Chelsea had lost 4-0 at Bournemouth and they can't play like that against Manchester City. The Londoners are facing a tough battle to get that fourth spot and qualify for the Champions League next season. Their lead over fifth place has been cut to two points and a loss here is likely to see them lose their position in the top four. The tip here is for a home win with City likely to exploit the defensive problems that Chelsea have shown in recent weeks.
Manchester City have a very good home record with 12 victories from 13 home league games this season. They are top of the Premiership and have won both of their last 2 games. They have home advantage and should beat Chelsea who have only won one of their last 3 league games and that was against struggling Huddersfield. Chelsea lost three successive games away from home in all competitions without scoring a single goal in the process. The Blues also failed to find the back of the net at all in three of past four head to head clashes with Manchester City.
If City is on the 1 st place with an extra match played against Liverpool (goal 68-20), Chelsea is only in 4th place (45-23) and is fighting hard with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal to defends the position that leads to the next edition of the UEFA Champions League. The previous round, Chelsea set himself up against Huddersfield (5-0) without any problems, but comes from modest outcomes, such as Bournemouth (0-4) and Arsenal (0-2). The tour was 2-0 for the Londoners, in a match prepared by Sarri magistral, but Chelsea's level has fallen since then and the advantage of his own field will be important on Sunday.
City have had a big week with games against Arsenal and Everton, but they were able to start with Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling on the bench against the Toffees, so at least those two will be fairly fresh. Chelsea have had the week off after thumping Huddersfield last weekend but I don't think that win over the Terriers changes the fact that all is not well with Maurizio Sarri's team. They will still pose a threat to City's title bid, though. The stories about Eden Hazard going to Real Madrid just seem to get stronger and stronger every week, but as long as he keeps performing then that is not an issue. This is going to be City's toughest game of the week, because Chelsea have got some very good players. I would back Gonzalo Higuain to score for Chelsea, and his movement in the box is top class, but City are on a roll, and I am going to go with them to win it.
I think City will win this as I just do not see how Chelsea defensively can keep them quiet on their ground and the way they pass and move it. Marcos Alonso plays as a No 10 and will be bombing forward, while David Luiz will either be a 9/10, or a 3/10! I would be shocked if Chelsea got anything from this game.
However, despite being top of the league, City are still vulnerable, they are not like they were last season. You could see that against Arsenal last weekend as when they equalised, they were comfortable and looked the better team, but they just did not have enough.
Chelsea have got more than Arsenal and it will be a hard game for City, but I just think that defensively, Chelsea can't be relied upon. They let in four at Bournemouth recently and if they fall behind, I just do not see them coming back, they do not have that in them.
Source: SkySports