Preview: Chelsea vs Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Royal blue and sky blue collide at Stamford Bridge in Sunday's Premier League blockbuster, as Champions League-chasing Chelsea and title outsiders Manchester City lock horns in the capital.

Both clubs marked their returns from the international break with resounding FA Cup victories, as Liam Rosenior's men hit Port Vale for seven while Pep Guardiola's side slaughtered Liverpool 4-0.

Match preview

The visit of a leaky League One side was just what the doctor ordered for Rosenior and Chelsea, who entered the international pause on the back of a disheartening four straight defeats, casting immediate doubt on the manager's long-term future.

However, an Enzo Fernandez-less Blues side restored some parity by pummelling Port Vale 7-0 at Stamford Bridge, thus earning a winnable semi-final date with Leeds United at Wembley in late April.

An expected annihilation of the third-tier strugglers has done little to alleviate the pressure on Rosenior's shoulders, though, especially after the Fernandez Real Madrid debacle, the fallout of which will spill over into the weekend as he serves the second of a two-game internal ban.

The Argentine's side had rivals Arsenal to thank in midweek, as the Gunners' Champions League success over Sporting Lisbon confirmed five UCL spots for English clubs next term, but Chelsea currently sit one point adrift of those coveted places in sixth position in the Premier League table.

Going down to Newcastle United and Everton without finding the back of the net in their last two top-flight games, Chelsea could suffer an unwanted 21st-century first on Sunday; the last time the hosts lost three straight Premier League matches without scoring was all the way back in 1998.

On the other side of the goals coin, Man City are striving for a third consecutive triumph and third consecutive clean sheet after a pair of standout knockout successes, the first of which earned Guardiola another page in the EFL Cup history books.

The Nico O'Reilly-inspired Citizens' 2-0 final win over Arsenal saw Guardiola become the first manager to win the League Cup on five separate occasions, and guaranteed that he would depart with at least one more trophy under his belt - if this is to be his final season.

Not resting on their Wembley laurels, the Sky Blues booked another trip to the home of English football by decimating a lackadaisical Liverpool side in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, thanks largely to Erling Haaland's 12th hat-trick since joining Man City in 2022.

The visitors' nine-point chasm to leaders Arsenal arguably should not be taken at face value either, as Man City still have that precious game in hand and will welcome the Gunners to the Etihad next weekend; on current domestic form alone, one would not bet against Guardiola's men coming up trumps.

Even with the campaign now in its final quarter, the title race is far from a foregone conclusion for a rejuvenated Citizens side, who specialise in April showdowns; they have won a staggering 28 of their last 31 Premier League matches played in this particular month.

Guardiola's side did have to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea in January, but that stalemate nevertheless extended their unbeaten streak against the Blues to 12 games in all competitions - not since the 2020-21 Champions League final have the hosts got one over the Mancunian mammoths.

Chelsea Premier League form:

Chelsea form (all competitions):

Manchester City Premier League form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Team News

Despite affirming that his - and Chelsea's - relationship with Fernandez remains cordial, Rosenior has confirmed that the former Benfica man will remain absent for the visit of Man City.

There has been no change to the hosts' injury situation either, as Reece James (thigh), Levi Colwill (knee), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (thigh), Filip Jorgensen (groin) and Trevoh Chalobah (ankle) are still absent, but Benoit Badiashile could return from an illness.

With few senior rotation options, Rosenior will not drastically shuffle the pack from the thrashing of Port Vale, but the likes of Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella should come back into the lineup.

Meanwhile, Man City's fitness woes are solely concentrated on the defensive area, as Ruben Dias (hamstring/knock) and Josko Gvardiol (leg) are both still missing for the visitors.

John Stones pulled out of the England squad with a calf problem too, but Guardiola said on Friday that the centre-back could train partially ahead of the game, so he is not a definite absentee at the time of writing.

Amid some confusion as to whether he will indeed leave at the end of the season, Bernardo Silva will become the Portuguese player with the most Premier League appearances - 297 - if he plays a single second of Sunday's showdown.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Adarabioyo, Cucurella; Santos, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Estevao; Pedro

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O'Reilly; Silva, Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland

We say: Chelsea 1-3 Manchester City

Neither Chelsea nor Man City fans should read too much into the Blues' demolition of Port Vale, and a depleted Blues side should suffer the same fate as Arsenal and Liverpool on home soil.

Not yet giving up on their dreams of bringing the Premier League crown back to Manchester, Guardiola's men should flex their attacking muscles and keep Arsenal honest.

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