Manchester City vs Chelsea (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, Stats, How to Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City look to pick themselves back up following a disappointing defeat in midweek, as they welcome Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium this weekend.

Coming from 0-2 down to eventually win 4-2, the French champions PSG put City to the sword in Europe during the week, inflicting a deadly blow to the confidence of Pep Guardiola’s side, who were seemingly finding their feet in the season prior to Wednesday’s match.

Manchester City must brush off the disappointment immediately ahead of this one, as they return to Premier League action taking on Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea in a crucial match in this season’s top-four battle.

The Italian tactician and former assistant under Pep Guardiola will not be the only familiar foe arriving to East Manchester on Saturday evening, with academy graduate and now-Chelsea star Cole Palmer returning for a second time during his time as a Stamford Bridge player.

The England international made his mark last season against Manchester City, scoring twice against the blues but he will be looking to show the Etihad Stadium faithful exactly what they are missing this time around.

Newest signings Vitor Reis, Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov are all in contention for this one and should be in the matchday squad, with the winter reinforcements arriving in full throttle for Pep Guardiola’s side.

The blues will be without a couple of key players once more however, as they look to fend off Chelsea and receive a huge boost in the race for top-four, with Ruben Dias, Jeremy Doku, and Nathan Ake among the confirmed absentees.

With that being said, here is everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s crucial Premier League fixture!

Match Details

Manchester City take on Chelsea on Saturday 25th January in the Premier League with kick-off scheduled for 17:30 GMT.

Match Officials

The Premier League have confirmed this week that John Brooks has been appointed as the match referee for the meeting between Manchester City and Chelsea.

You can find the full list of match referees for the contest at the Etihad Stadium below!

Team News

Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku will be unavailable for Pep Guardiola’s side on Saturday evening, the manager has confirmed during his pre-match press conference. Despite being back in first-team training, Oscar Bobb will still be unavailable, and Rodri remains out.

John Stones returned to action on Wednesday night in the French capital and is once again in contention for Manchester City in this one, while Nathan Ake is still out injured in what is a frustrating campaign for the pair.

Wesley Fofana is out of the Chelsea squad with a long-term injury, Levi Colwill is in line to return to the Stamford Bridge squad, while former Manchester City player Romeo Lavia is set to miss out.

Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer are both expected to be fit, according to Enzo Maresca, while Benoit Badiashile is not expected to play any part due to injury alongside the suspended Mykhailo Mudryk.

Head to Head

The two sides battled it out in a couple of draws in the Premier League last season, with a memorable 4-4 at Stamford Bridge, before a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium ensued last February.

Chelsea have failed to beat Manchester City since the UEFA Champions League final win back in 2021, with Pep Guardiola’s side undefeated against Chelsea in the last 11 games across all competitions.

City have kept seven clean sheets in the last nine encounters between the two clubs, with last season’s draws the only time Chelsea have managed to score against the Sky Blues since that fateful night in Porto.

Statistics

Manchester City are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League games against Chelsea (W5 D2), since a 2-1 home loss in May 2021.

Chelsea have kept just one clean sheet in their last 16 Premier League away games against Man City (1-0 in February 2014), failing to score themselves on seven occasions in that run.

This is the latest into a Premier League campaign that Chelsea are facing Manchester City while above them in the table since 2016-17, when they won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on MD30 en route to winning the title under Antonio Conte.

After a run of just one win in nine Premier League games from the start of November (D2 L6), Manchester City have now won three of their last four (D1). They have scored 14 goals in this run, more than they had in their previous 11 league games (13).

Manchester City have lost their last three Premier League games played immediately after a European midweek game, as many as they had in their previous 34 (W21 D10). The last time the Citizens lost four such matches in a single campaign was back in 2010-11.

How to Watch

For viewers in the United Kingdom, you can watch Saturday’s match live on Sky Sports, with kick-off scheduled for 17:30 GMT.

For viewers in the United States, you can view the match on Peacock, with kick-off slated for 12:30 EST.

You can find full global TV listings for the match here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout Wednesday evening, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!