The marquee matchup of the Premier League weekend could see a title celebration. Actually, Manchester City could be crowned champions regardless of their result at home against Chelsea on Sunday, if Nottingham Forest beats Arsenal.
While City manager Pep Guardiola has typically shied away from discussing the potential of winning the treble, last night he took a different tone. After all, his team is now through to the finals of both the Champions League and FA Cup. Additionally, they are essentially champions-elect of the Premier League.
Chelsea FC at Manchester City FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday May 21, 4pm, Etihad Stadium
Team News: Chelsea Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Manchester City
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
“Fun” Fact: City eliminated Chelsea from both cup competitions this season.
PL Form Chelsea DWLLL Manchester City: WWWWW
Let me win the first two,” Guardiola responded last night when asked about City’s chance of winning the treble this season.
“In the Premier League we are close. We know we need one more game and I would say we play against our neighbours [Manchester United] and against an Italian team [Internazionale] in the finals.
The season is really, really good, now we have to lift it. We are close and of course we are going to try.
“We are there, we can think about it, we can visualise it. We are three games away. One each of the competitions, we can do it.”
There is no team news to speak of here. Nathan Ake, the only injury absentee, remains out of commission. So we’ll just skip ahead to the starting lineup prediction.
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.