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It is the clash of the European champions Chelsea with the English champions Manchester City, the repeat of last season’s Champions League final that was played out in Porto. Two of the game’s best tacticians in the form of Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel meet in the British capital this weekend.
The Blues and the Sky Blues lock horns in West London for the first time this season in a highly anticipated match in the Premier League between two title contenders in the English top-flight.
Image courtesy – Metro UK website
The Citizens drew their last Premier League match against Southampton at home, but blew apart Wycombe in the Carabao Cup.
Meanwhile, Chelsea won their last Premier league match against Tottenham Hotspur comfortably by a 3-0 margin before drawing their Carabao Cup tie with Aston Villa.
As the clash between the two clubs draws closer, FootTheBall gives a detailed lowdown before kick-off in the English capital.
TEAM NEWS
CHELSEA
For Thomas Tuchel’s side, Edouard Mendy and Christian Pulisic are still recovering from their respective injuries, but apart from the afore-mentioned duo the German manager has all his players ready for this crucial match in London.
It’s all fun and games! 😅 pic.twitter.com/1EJEa9b0cg
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 21, 2021
CHELSEA PROBABLE STARTING LINE-UP (3-4-2-1) : Kepa; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kovacic, Kante, Alonso; Mount, Havertz; Lukaku
MANCHESTER CITY
The Sky Blues have a number of injury doubts including key players such as Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ilkay Gundogan (the German will be assessed before the game in London). But, apart from them Pep Guardiola doesn’t have any major tweaking to do at his hands.
Warming up! 📈
🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/Nb8nnKfdBM
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 18, 2021
MANCHESTER CITY PROBABLE STARTING LINE-UP (4-3-3) : Moraes; Walker, Dias, Ake, Cancelo; Mahrez, Fernandinho, Silva; Jesus, Sterling, Grealish
GAMECHANGERS
ROMELU LUKAKU
The Belgian has been a revelation ever since he came from Milan to London this summer after Inter Milan’s title triumph in Italy after more than a decade.
The former Manchester United player has hit the ground running in the British capital, scoring 3 goals in 4 matches for the Blues in the Premier League and once again the onus will be on him to lead Chelsea’s attack against the English top-flight champions in West London alongside talented players like Mason Mount and Kai Havertz.
JACK GREALISH
The Englishman scored and assisted against RB Leipzig on his Champions League debut and has been an influential figure for the Citizens ever since making the move from Aston Villa this summer.
He, alongside Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva will be tasked with creating chances for Gabriel Jesus up top and even getting in scoring positions themselves whenever the Brazilian draws away the markers from them through his off-the-ball movement.
PREDICTION
Chelsea and Manchester City are well-oiled machines alongside fellow Premier league title contenders Liverpool and it looks like this match will go right down to the wire in the British capital.
But, Chelsea will eke out a win as more often than not Pep Guardiola tinkers too much with his squads for big-ticket matches both in England and Europe.
This will certainly hand over the advantage to the Blues in London as they play in front of a home crowd eager to witness Romelu Lukaku playing against one of the top sides in the English top-flight.
FootTheBall’s prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City
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