The Saturday late kick-off pits the teams in the top of the Premier League standings. Stamford Bridge will host a game that Chelsea won 2-1 in its corresponding fixture in the previous season. The visitors know too well that failure to win the game will grant Manchester United – which has an easy home fixture – a chance to reach the top of the table. The home side will be trying to win the game so that they can match their Saturday’s opponents point tally and also help the Londoners from being overtaken in the race by Tottenham Hotspurs, which is breathing on Chelsea’s back.

Talking point

Chelsea will be going into this fixture with much confidence after prevailing in the double league meetings, granting them the maximum points that helped The Blues win the league last season. In the last four league encounters between the two sides, a winner has emerged with at least three goals being realized in each occasion.

The hosts have won 10 of their last 12 Premier League matches scoring at least two goals in seven of the last eight games. The Blues head into this game after an impressive display that saw them come from behind to earn a crucial victory over Atlético Madrid in Spain on Tuesday.

The visitors currently lead the 20-league tables scoring a massive number of goals while only conceding two goals to set a huge goal difference of 19 goals.

The Citizens have scored at least four goals in their last three games in the Premier League. In fact, Guardiola’s side has won nine of its last ten games while keeping clean sheets in five of the last seven Premier League matches.

Team news

The Blues go into the game buoyed by the rare win they earned in Madrid on Wednesday but will face the side with the best attack without David Luiz, who’s suspended for the game.

Antonio Conte is likely to fill the void that the Brazilian defender leaves by bringing Andreas Christensen. Danny Drinkwater, who hasn’t made his debut for the champions since joining from Leicester City is injured and will wait until after the international break to make his initial appearance for the Londoners. Pedro Rodriguez, who played no role in the midweek win, is doubtful but is likely to feature at some stages of the game.

Other than the players mentioned, Antonio Conte has the rest of the squad to choose from.

The rampant manchester city will miss the services of Benjamin Mendy who’s a long-term casualty. Team captain Vincent Kompany, who last represented his side in late August, is doubtful; even if he recovers in time, Guardiola won’t risk playing him in a match of this magnitude. The rest of the players are available for selection in this fixture.

The game features two of the three joint league top scorers, who will be up against each other trying to give their sides as many goals as they can afford. Morata, Aguero, and Lukaku are currently topping the best scorers’ board with six goals each. While it looks easy for Antonio Conte, who seems to have found the winning team, Guardiola will be facing a selection headache with both Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling in top form but playing the same position.

Each of the two sides relies on assists to come from Spanish players. Ironically, defender Cesar Azpilicueta tops the list of players with the highest number of assists on his team, while David Silva’s six assists are the highest for his side. Kevin de Bruyne failed to convince Chelsea of his significance to the team and was sold to Wolfsburg. Now, he will come face to face with his former employer as he tries to prove his worth.

Probable lineups

Chelsea: 3-4-2-1 Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill, Bakayoko, Kante, Alonso, Moses, Hazard, Willian, and Morata.

Manchester City: 4-3-3 Ederson, Stones, Otamendi, Walker, Danilo, Bruyne, Fernandinho, Silva, Aguero, G. Jesus, and Sterling.

Predictions

From the look of things, the game is likely to produce many goals, with each side possessing "dangerous" scorers and players with the highest assists. Besides, the previous encounters witnessed at least a total of three goals. As usual, if the hosts get into score sheet, then the scorer will most likely be a Spaniard, while away side will get its goals from the South American players.

While the bookies are tipping the visitors to prevail, I see the Champions winning as they wouldn’t want to lose at Stamford Bridge after the opening fixture shocking loss against Burnley. The game promises to be very interesting as it features two sides that comfortably won their midweek European assignment.

Fulltime prediction: Chelsea 3-2 Manchester City
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