GW: 16 Chelsea vs. Manchester City

This weekend we have a massive Premier League game taking place as Chelsea take on the incredible Manchester City. This is a clash between two of the best PL sides at the moment as 1st place takes on 4th. With Man City unbeaten so far this season and with them playing superb football at the moment you would expect them to win the match as they’ve won 13 of their 15 matches this season. Their away form isn’t any worse either, as they’ve won 11 of their last 13 away Premier League matches. Chelsea will have a very tough job this match and could potentially lose their first home match of the season especially considering their tough match they had to play against Wolves midweek. In the match it will be interesting to see whether the game is high scoring or not, as City and Chelsea are 1st and 3rd in terms of goals scored but also the 2nd and 3rd best in terms of goals conceded. Will it be a case of the teams sitting back and trying to be cautious or will they go for it full throttle to get the win.

Chelsea started the season in flying form but have dropped off a little bit lately losing 2 of their last 3 matches. After winning their first 5, Chelsea have since only won 4 of their last 10. This includes only 1 win in their last 4 as Chelsea have slowly started to falling apart. Chelsea’s last match handed them their second loss of the season as they lost 2-1 to Wolves. In the match Chelsea were quite unlucky to lose as expected goals had the match at 1.47 to 0.68 in Chelsea’s favour showing that they maybe deserved the win. In the game Chelsea had 70% possession and a total of 17 shots while Wolves had 6. The problem for Chelsea was their finishing ability as only 3 of their shots found the target while 2 of Wolves’ did. From the match stats you can tell that Chelsea are a team who love the ball and who like to keep possession and they are currently 2nd for average possession at the moment. The only team ahead of them in this regard is Manchester City so it will be very interesting to see the clash of styles and which team will be allowed to have more time on the ball.

Antonio Rudiger has been an outstanding defender this season and will be crucial in keeping Man City’s attack at bay. This season, he has made 27 tackles and interceptions as well as 4 blocks and 46 clearances which are good numbers considering be plays for a side who keep an average of 63% possession. One of the main reasons that he has been so important and has played so well under Sarri is his ability to keep possession as he is currently making 82 passes a match with a 91% pass accuracy, and also 4.7 accurate long balls a game. This is crucial when playing in a Sarri system because his philosophy encourages all players to be good passers of the ball. On the attacking end, Eden Hazard is the man expected to cause City a lot of problems in the match. In his 14 appearances, he has scored 7 goals and provided 6 assists which is very impressive considering he has only made 11 starts.He has been getting in very promising positions this season and is taking nearly 3.5 shots per 90 as well as acting as an extremely good creator, making 3.59 key passes per 90. Man CIty have a brilliant defence with players such as Laporte and Stones in the form of their life and Chelsea will be very reliant on Hazard’s attacking output.

At the moment, Manchester City look to be the best team in Europe as they are thrashing the other teams in the Premier League and are at the top of the table only dropping 4 points from the first 15 games. While other teams are suffering quite a bit from the midweek fixtures, Chelsea included, Man City might not have as much of a problem dealing with it as their strength in depth is outstanding and they should be able to find adequate replacements for all of their players who need to be rested. Their midweek game was a 2-1 win over Watford. This game was one of City’s most tense of the season as Watford gave them a very tough time at the end of the game. In the match City come out on top in terms of expected goals as it was 2.52 to 1.67 and they also had more possession and more shots but the same amount of shots on target. Watford ended up having 7 shots on target which is a very good amount for a team playing Manchester City, showing that maybe their defence broke down a bit near the end of the match.

Chelsea are a very good attacking side and City’s defence will need to be at the top of their game to keep them from scoring. The man who has been the standout defensive player for them thus far is Aymeric Laporte. Laporte has made 28 tackles and interceptions this season and his great defensive output will definitely be needed in the match. Similarly to Rudiger though, much of his importance to the squad comes from his incredible passing statistics as he is making 84 passes a match as well as 4.8 accurate long balls. Leroy Sane is likely to be the most dangerous attacking player for City this week, as he has been in incredible form recently. In 8 starts and 5 substitute appearances Sane has managed an incredible 6 goals and 5 assists. After a slow start to the season he has scored 5 and assisted 3 in his last 5 starts really proving his worth as he has now scored or assisted in every one of his Premier League starts. With Manchester City’s constant rotation he might not start this match, especially considering he has started the last 3, but if he does play, he’s definitely one to watch.

Chelsea have only one injury problem coming into this match which is crucial considering their opponent. This is Victor Moses who shouldn’t be a big miss as he has barely played this season and his absence shouldn't upset the squad. Man City have a few worrying problems coming into the match but with their superb depth you would think they would be able to fill these gaps. Mendy, De Bruyne and Aguero are the players that they will most likely miss the most as they are all incredibly talented members of the squad. With Pep Guardiola confirming that they will all miss the game they could have quite a bit of trouble against such a strong Chelsea team. For Mendy, Delph will most likely slot into his role as he has had to do multiple times already this season. De Bruyne will be replaced by either Bernardo Silva or Ilkay Gundogan who are both in good form at the moment. Aguero’s problem is a bit trickier though as his regular backup, Gabriel Jesus has been poor so far this season. This could lead to Pep using one of either Sane, Sterling or Mahrez up front and trying to play 3 wingers as his front 3. Chelsea will need every advantage they get to beat this City side and the injury problems that Pep’s men are currently enduring might just be enough to get a result.

It will be incredibly interesting to see who comes out on top in this game and although Man City have such a strong record this season, you can’t ignore Chelsea’s form at the Bridge. At home, Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League matches gaining 18 points from a possible 24 at home this season. In the last 5 meetings between the teams Manchester City have won 3 and Chelsea have won 2. 2 of Man City’s wins come from last season where they won 1-0 both times. Man City’s recent form goes against historical preference though, as Chelsea have won 24 of the 42 matches between the sides (in the Premier League), while City have only won 11. Overall, I think the sides are very evenly matched and with Chelsea at home in the game, I predict a 1-1 draw.