Following a decisive victory against Real Madrid, Manchester City are on a high and motivated to wrap up the Premier League title fight as quickly as possible. On the other hand, in the middle of the rankings, Chelsea is secure and working to put an end to this nightmare as quickly as possible so that it can begin planning for the following season.
In the Premier League, Man City is on an 11-game winning streak and has gone nearly six months without suffering a loss to a league opponent. Pep Guardiola is really pleased with his team and hopes to end this campaign with the Treble. The most impressive demonstration of their might was their 4-0 victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Since January 1st, Man City has won nine straight Premier League games. In each of those victories, Erling Haaland, Bernardo Silva, and the rest of Guardiola’s team scored at least two goals, shattering a number of records, with Haaland taking the lead in that category.
Manchester City played with a lot of confidence at home throughout the whole season, winning 16 of their first 18 games there while also tied twice and losing once. They scored 59 goals, which was a league-high, while only surrendering 17 goals.
One of their worst seasons since the turn of the millennium belongs to Chelsea. The entire structure fell apart when Roman Abramovich was forced to leave the squad early in the season. Following that, the Blues and the new owners blew through a lot of money without seeing any progress, sacked two managers (Tuchel and Potter), and finished with a poor record.
In order to conclude the season and settle the tension, Frank Lampard returned. He was able to diffuse the situation and calm the people who had stopped rooting for their heroes in anticipation of better days.
In the last 10 games, Chelsea has only managed one victory, seven losses, and two draws. The Blues’ games are becoming more productive; the previous four have all ended with four goals or more and goals from both teams.
Chelsea’s current form: LLLWD
Brighton’s current form: WWDWW
When and Where?
Location: Manchester, England.
Stadium: The Etihad stadium.
Date: Sunday, 21st May.
Kick-off Time: 16:00 BST / 11:00 ET.
Match Officials
Referee: Michael Oliver.
Assistants: Stuart Burt, Lee Betts.
Fourth official: Robert Jones.
VAR: John Brooks.
Assistant VAR: Simon Bennett.
Man City vs Chelsea H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Manchester City: 5 wins
Chelsea: 0 wins
Draws: 0
Team news
Manchester City team news
Guardiola will undoubtedly play at full strength despite the championship still being up for grabs. The City manager hasn’t made many changes lately, and doing so for their last home game of the year could be the wrong move.
Man City have a huge roster to draw from in the closing stages of the campaign, but Guardiola could decide against going into full rotation on Sunday to ensure the championship is clinched – if Nottingham Forest is defeated on Saturday.
The sole injury absentee for City is still Nathan Ake, and his return won’t be hastened. Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden, for example, may enter from wide.
Chelsea team news
Eduoard Mendy unexpectedly made Frank Lampard’s starting lineup against Nottingham Forest, however after a dismal showing and with Kepa Arrizabalaga returning, he may be relegated to the bench.
As Chelsea looks to improve its currently dismal record, players including Reece James, Mason Mount, Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell, and N’Golo Kante are all out from their last three games.
Benoit Badiashile has a groyne injury as well, thus Wesley Fofana may team up with Thiago Silva.
Players to Watch
Manchester City: Riyad Mahrez
When Pep Guardiola’s team was competing on numerous fronts, Mahrez was Mr Reliable. Mahrez is counted on to perform in pivotal Premier League games, and more often than not, he does so, even if he seldom enters the field in Champions League games. He averaged 82 points per game in the four games before the first leg of the Champions League semifinal, and he has a fantastic score of 60 over his past 40 (L40) games (albeit he did come on briefly in the second leg to get a low score we are not taking into consideration).
Chelsea: Conor Gallagher
Gallagher is one of the few people who benefit from Frank Lampard’s second stint as Chelsea manager. Despite just having one goal scored, six of Lampard’s 15 league starts this season have come in the eight games he has managed. He has an 82 and a 77 in his previous six games, however, there have been some high scores mixed in with the ordinary ones, so he may be someone to keep an eye on, especially against City when his tenacity and energy will be crucial.
Predicted Lineups
Man City predicted lineup vs Chelsea: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Foden; Haaland.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Man City: Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Silva, Fofana, Hall; Loftus-Cheek, Fernandez, Gallagher; Madueke, Felix, Sterling.
