The week’s penalty-filled loss to Real Madrid by Manchester City was hardly the best preparation for this match. In spite of this, Pep Guardiola’s club has performed admirably in the FA Cup this year. In the Third Round, City easily defeated Huddersfield 5-0. Spurs were then defeated 1-0 in the Fourth Round. In the Fifth Round, City crushed Luton Town 6-2, with five goals from Erling Haaland. At the Etihad, a quarterfinal matchup with Newcastle United awaited, and City prevailed 2-0 once more. With the exception of their penalty loss to Real Madrid (which followed two draws), Manchester City has won 33 games across all competitions without losing since suffering a 1-0 setback to Aston Villa on December 6.
As Chelsea’s manager, Mauricio Pochettino is having one of his best seasons. The Blues are now ninth in the Premier League standings after an abjectly bad season, but if they win their remaining match, they might pass Manchester United and take seventh place. In domestic cup football, Chelsea has performed significantly better. Their lone loss in the previous twelve games came in the Carabao Cup Final, where they fell to Liverpool 1-0. Chelsea defeated Preston North End 4-0 in the Third Round of the FA Cup, but Aston Villa forced a replay in the Fourth Round. In that rematch, the London team would triumph 3-1 on the road following a 0-0 stalemate at Stamford Bridge. Then, in the Fifth Round and Quarterfinals, two of the best Championship teams were eliminated. Leicester was eliminated after losing 4-2 while Leeds was eliminated first, 3-2.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ortega; Walker, Stones, Dias, Ake; Rodri; Foden, De Bruyne, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Gusto, Chalobah, Silva, Chilwell; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling; Jackson
Our Manchester City vs Chelsea Prediction: Both Teams To Score
- Both teams scored in both Premier League meetings between these two sides and backing both teams to score looks a strong option here. There have been goals at both ends in each of Man City’s last five games and in seven of Chelsea’s last eight.