Chelsea visits Manchester City on Saturday for a blockbuster Premier League fixture that will be the third meeting between the two sides this season. An even bigger edition of the series, the fourth match between these two clubs in 20/21, will transpire on May 29 when they meet in the UEFA Champions League final.
Chelsea leads the all time series with 69 wins to City’s 59. They’ve played to a draw 39 times. Earlier this season, Chelsea ousted City from the FA Cup in the semifinal round while City cruised past Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge the last time these two sides met in the Premier League.
"We have played them lots of times but you know it's the Champions League final!"
"We go with everything. We believe in ourselves. We know that we will have to work hard."
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta on an all-English #UCL final!
? @TheDesKelly pic.twitter.com/B4nzpvk3Rr
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 5, 2021
Chelsea is currently in 4th place, with 61 pts in the table. Another London club, West Ham United, is nipping at their heels, with 58 points. Man City is top of the table, with 80 pts and one hand on the Premier League trophy. A win here and they get both hands on it, which would mark the club’s third title in the past four seasons.
Chelsea vs Manchester City FYIs
Kickoff: Saturday May 8, 5:30pm, City of Manchester Stadium
Team News: Chelsea Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Manchester City
TV/Stream: NBC/NBCSports.com
In looking at who Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel might select for his first team here, you got to start with the Generation Z Anglo-American attacking alliance of Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount.
The Zoomer duo put last night’s game, and thus the semifinal tie with Real Madrid, to bed when they linked up to provide the second and decisive goal.
Timo Werner will round out the final third, with Ben Chilwell and Cesar Azpilicueta setting up at wing back. The holding midfield picks itself, as Mateo Kovacic is out of commission.
N’Golo Kante and Jorginho will definitely start.
The back three is an obvious selection too- the same troika of central defenders that lined up in the first team in Madrid last week. That’s Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger.
Goalkeeper is a no-brainer pick as well, Edouard Mendy, who had a couple massive saves last night.
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction at Manchester City (3-4-2-1): Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell; Mount, Werner, Pulisic
Prediction: Man City 1, Chelsea 0
The Cityzens won the reverse fixture handily, but that feels like it was awhile ago now, as the Blues have bridged the gap since.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.