Man City blew away Real Madrid to book a place in the Champions League final and this weekend, they will have the chance to wrap up the Premier League title as well.
On Sunday, Manchester City will face Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium and if Arsenal cannot win on Saturday then City will be champions even before they kick off. If the Gunners beat Forest then Man City will have to win against Chelsea to be able to lift the EPL trophy.
Man City are unstoppable right now and with the kind of form that Chelsea are in right now, it’s very hard to see Lampard’s side putting up a proper fight. Obviously, Chelsea will want to delay City’s title celebrations but we think the home side is en route to an easy victory on Sunday. The Blues are winless in their previous five meetings against the Cityzens and in these five encounters, they have conceded nine goals.
Manchester City’s team news and injuries:
Nathan Ake is the only injury doubt going into this weekend’s match but Pep is properly covered in the defensive areas to not be concerned.
The Man City manager is expected to name a second-fiddle side on Sunday because he now has the FA Cup and the Champions League finals to focus on. The likes of Manuel Akanji and John Stones could be rested on Sunday.
Aymeric Laporte will most probably come into the side and play as the left-sided centre-back but in all honestly, there’s an outside chance that Guardiola could go back to a 4-2-3-1 system as well. We don’t think the manager is going to drift away from his tried and tested 3-2-4-1 formation but if Arsenal lose on Saturday then there’s no need for them to try hard on Sunday.
Kalvin Phillips has been a benchwarmer for most of this season but the midfielder could get a rare start. Phil Foden is also going to come in and play on the left with Riyad Mahrez replacing Bernardo Silva.
Reco Lewis can play in the defensive midfielder’s role so there’s also a possibility that he partners with Rodri in the middle of the pitch.
Despite some great opportunities, Haaland couldn’t score against Real Madrid and Pep Guardiola has no reason to rest him. De Bruyne, however, will be rested because Julian Alvarez is more than capable of playing in the playmaker’s role.
Man City predicted line up vs Chelsea:
Predicted starting line up(3-2-4-1): Ederson; Laporte/Ake, Dias, Walker; Rodri, Phillips/Lewis; Foden, Gundogan, Alvarez, Mahrez; Haaland.
