Manchester City take on Chelsea in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening as Pep Guardiola returns to the dugout after serving a two-game ban.
The Blues arrive in west London having not lost to Chelsea in any competition since the 2021 UEFA Champions League final in Porto – a run stretching nearly five years across all competitions.
City head into the fixture with significant momentum, having beaten Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley last month and demolished Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup quarter-final at the Etihad Stadium last weekend.
Chelsea vs Manchester City (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch
Sunday’s fixture has taken on added significance following Arsenal‘s shock 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, with the Gunners dropping points for the second time in three games and handing City an opportunity to cut the gap at the top of the Premier League table with victory at Stamford Bridge.
Ruben Dias is unavailable after missing the Carabao Cup final and last week’s win over Liverpool with a hamstring injury, while Josko Gvardiol continues his rehabilitation from a tibial fracture sustained in January.
John Stones was deemed a doubt for the game by Guardiola in a press conference on Friday. However, Mateo Kovacic, who has returned to full training after an Achilles surgery, could feature in some capacity from the bench.
Enzo Fernandez is absent for Chelsea having been sanctioned by head coach Liam Rosenior over his recent comments expressing a preference for life in Madrid, ruling the vice-captain out of both this fixture and last weekend’s 7-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over Port Vale.
Chelsea’s upcoming run of games against City and Arsenal will go some way in defining the west London outfit’s hopes of securing a top-four finish in the Premier League this season.
For City, three points would set up a potentially title-defining home fixture against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium next weekend – a match that Guardiola has made clear his side must treat as a final in their pursuit of a seventh Premier League title.
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Ahead of Sunday’s 16:30 (UK) kick-off between Chelsea and Manchester City, here are the confirmed line-ups from Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea
Starting XI: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella, Caicedo, Andrey Santos, Estevao, Palmer, Neto, Joao Pedro
Substitutes: Sharman-Lowe, Acheampong, Tosin, Sarr, Essugo, Lavia, Garnacho, Guiu, Delap
Manchester City
Starting XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly, Rodri, Bernardo, Semenyo, Cherki, Doku, Haaland
Substitutes: Trafford, Reijnders, Ake, Marmoush, Kovacic, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden
