Manchester City vs Chelsea

Etihad Stadium sets the stage for a mouth-watering Premier League showdown between Manchester City and Chelsea.

Manchester City’s formidable spell of form continued in midweek Champions League action as they thrashed Copenhagen 3-1 to make it 11 consecutive wins across all competitions – their longest winning streak since a run of 21 between December 2020 and March 2021. However, Pep Guardiola’s side can’t take their feet off the gas as they commence this round two points adrift of Premier League pacesetters Liverpool. With the impending return to the Etihad Stadium, where they’ve not lost any of their last 22 league matches (W18, D4), the Citizens seem destined for success against a Chelsea side they’ve defeated ‘to nil’ in the last four domestic home H2Hs they’ve hosted. But there’s no room for complacency, at least based on a blockbuster 4-4 draw in the reverse fixture in November.

Meanwhile, Chelsea delivered a perfect response to a 4-2 home loss to Wolverhampton with a comeback 3-1 triumph at Crystal Palace earlier this week, making it back-to-back competitive away wins by the same scoreline following a landslide victory at Aston Villa in the FA Cup. Bidding to score 3+ goals in three successive away games for the first time since March 2022, the Pensioners touch down at the venue where they last scored in May 2021. But the Blues fans can’t possibly imagine which version of Mauricio Pochettino’s side they’ll get on a given day after Chelsea alternated between winning (2) and losing (2) across their last four Premier League travels. The high-scoring theme has been a common denominator during that stretch, with all four matches seeing over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet.