Chelsea vs Manchester City Preview

Manchester City will continue their defence of their Premier League title this Thursday when they travel to London to face a struggling Chelsea team.

The Blues will be desperate to get back to winning ways when they host Pep Guardiola’s side after they suffered another poor outing last time.

They began the new year in disappointing fashion as they were held to a 1-1 draw against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest. That result means that the hosts have now won just one of their last seven league games (D3, L3).

They have also kept just one clean sheet in their last nine games in all competitions while their points haul of 25 leaves them sitting in seventh position, seven points behind the top four places.

After their most recent game, manager Graham Potter admitted his side did not deserve all three points despite enjoying the greater percentage of ball possession. He also lamented their poor second-half display, stating that “the performance level was not good enough.”

Ahead of this must-win tie against City, Potter will hope his side can put in a more clinical display and take home all three points against a side that have beaten them on the last three occasions.

Like their hosts, Manchester City also endured a poor showing last time out, losing two points in their game against Everton. In a 1-1 draw at the Etihad, Erling Haaland gave City the lead with his 21st league goal of the season, but profligacy in front of the goal and an impressive solo goal by Demarai Gray rescued a point for Frank Lampard’s men.

That draw, alongside Arsenal’s big win over Brighton means that the Cityzens are now seven points behind in the race for the title. However, with the gap widening, there is little room for error here for City who could potentially end the day in third if they fail to win here.

But given that they have conceded just six goals away from home this season and scored the most goals in the league this season, they will fancy their chances of bouncing back in this game.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Premier League Fixtures:

Premier League Table