Fresh from booking their place in the Champions League final, Manchester City will resume their quest for Premier League glory when Chelsea visit the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
With three matches remaining, table-topping Man City find themselves four points clear of Arsenal, while Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand over the Gunners.
🏃♂️💨@kylewalker2 👏 pic.twitter.com/4muBlXlQy4— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 18, 2023
🏃♂️💨@kylewalker2 👏 pic.twitter.com/4muBlXlQy4
As for Chelsea, they occupy 11th place and trail City by a whopping 42 points, with a bottom-half finish looking likely for the Blues.
It is no exaggeration to say that Manchester City demolished Real Madrid on Wednesday, securing a 4-0 victory at the Etihad to wrap up a 5-1 aggregate win.
Not only did Guardiola’s men enjoy 60% of the ball, but they also racked up 16 shots, while Los Blancos managed just three attempts on target in the second leg.
As a result, City carry a 23-game unbeaten streak into Sunday’s showdown, having collected 19 wins and four draws since losing to Tottenham Hotspur back in February.
Having won each of their last 11 Premier League matches – scoring 29 goals in the process – Manchester City are on course to seal a fifth title in six seasons.
In contrast, Chelsea are enduring a dismal campaign by their own high standards, having recorded 11 wins, 10 draws and 14 defeats in the league.
Following last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest, the Blues have now managed to win just one of their previous 11 matches in all competitions.
Chelsea even posted a six-match losing run between early April and early May before returning to winning ways with a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth.
Having won only two of their last 15 away matches across all competitions, Frank Lampard’s men look set to experience more away-day misery this weekend.
Head-to-head: Manchester City have won each of their last five meetings with Chelsea, keeping a clean sheet on every occasion.
In the Premier League, Man City have won eight of their previous 11 encounters with the Blues, achieving six shutouts along the way.
Team news: Manchester City’s only injury absentee is Nathan Ake, who has missed the past few games with a hamstring problem.
On the flip side, Chelsea’s injury list contains Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante and Armando Broja, while Mateo Kovacic and Kalidou Koulibaly are doubts.
When you consider the current gulf between Man City and Chelsea, all the signs point towards a comfortable home victory on Sunday.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that in-form Manchester City will score over 2.5 goals en route to dispatching struggling Chelsea.