There is no doubt where the biggest game of the weekend is being played in the Premier League as Manchester City meet Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Manchester City will be hoping a win will close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table whereas Chelsea know a win will move them 4 points clear of Manchester City and hopefully closer to Liverpool.
Manchester City come into this match having lost 3-1 at title rivals Liverpool before the international break. It was a very disappointing result for the defending champions who conceded an early goal and struggled to get back into the match despite playing well in the opening stages of the game.
That was Manchester city's third defeat of the season having also lost away to Norwich City, who are currently sitting bottom of the Premier League and home against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Coupled with the draw at Atalanta in the Champions League, Manchester City have failed to win any of their last 2 games in all competitions.
However, they remain strong when playing at home and Manchester City have won each of their last 4 home games in all competitions. Trends show Manchester City have won 13 of their last 15 home Premier League matches, with just one draw and one defeat. Manchester City have managed to score 2 or more goals in 21 of their last 25 home Premier League matches and have kept a clean sheet in 8 of their last 12 home league games.
Chelsea make the trip north full of confidence having defeated Crystal Palace at home 2-0 before the international fixtures. That result means Chelsea have won each of their last 6 Premier League games and that run has been good enough to propel them into 3rd place in the table. During those 6 games Chelsea have defeated Brighton, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace at home plus Southampton, Burnley, and Watford away.
In addition to their excellent form in the Premier League, Chelsea are currently on a run of 7 wins away from home. In addition to the 3 away wins in the Premier League highlighted above, Chelsea have defeated Norwich City and both Lille and Ajax in the Champions League.
Trends show that in 7 of Chelsea's 8 most recent away matches in all competitions both teams have scored.
Team news and Manchester City are still without Alexander Zinchenko, Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane who each have long term injury problems. Ederson Is struggling with a thigh injury while Bernardo Silva is suspended.
Chelsea are without central defender Antonio Rüdiger who is struggling to overcome a groin problem. Christian Pulisic, Marco Van Ginkel and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are rated as doubtful, with the former being a big loss if not fit.
Manchester City will be keen to return to winning ways following their defeat against Liverpool last time out but this is going to be a difficult game. Chelsea have shown they can more than hold their own away from home this season and have the ability to score goals against a struggling Manchester City defence. We could see an away win for Chelsea with both teams scoring.