Chelsea vs Manchester City Preview

Manchester City will begin their title defence this Sunday when they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.

For the second season in a row the Blues will begin the new campaign with a new manager. In the last two seasons, they have had three different permanent managers, so Enzo Maresca is their fourth manager in the last 24 months.

The Italian has a huge task on his hands. He is expected to bring some order to the chaos at Chelsea and help the club improve on its seventh-place finish last season. He did well at Leicester City, leading them to promotion.

However, the early signs haven’t been good at Chelsea with just one win from their six pre-season matches (D2, L3). But that’ll all be forgotten if Maresca’s men can hit the ground running when it matters against reigning English champions Manchester City. 

Yet, the omen suggests another defeat as since beating Pep Guardiola’s men 1-0 in the 2021 Champions League final, their H2H record against City is dreadful. They have not won in the nine H2H clashes (D2, L7) and have failed to score on seven occasions. 

Meanwhile, after an average pre-season, Manchester City clicked to life when it mattered.

Guardiola’s side made the ideal start to their competitive campaign by beating rivals Manchester United at Wembley last weekend in the Community Shield on penalties. 

They now switch their focus to the Premier League where they’re bidding to take their already unprecedented dominance to another level by winning a fifth successive title. However, the case for allegedly breaching 115 of the Premier League’s rules is set to finally be heard next month which could change the league’s landscape this term depending on the outcome. 

Guardiola’s men will aim to put that distraction to one side and get off to a flying start here. The omen is good for them as the Cityzens have won their opening Premier League game in 12 of the past 13 seasons (L1). However, the sole blemish on that record came in the capital against Chelsea’s rivals Tottenham in 2021.

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

Premier League Table