The State of Play
Manchester City had a bit of a shaky patch of form in the early winter but they continued their current winning streak in midweek. The defending treble winners cruised to a comfortable 3-1 defeat of Copenhagen in the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie, meaning they have now enjoyed 11 successive victories across all competitions, scoring 32 goals in the process.
Chelsea continued with their unpredictable characteristics inside 90 minutes on Monday evening. They trailed by a goal to nil at half-time against Crystal Palace and were remarkably lacklustre but The Blues did put on a bit of a show in the second-half to eventually win by three goals to one. Mauricio Pochettino’s side remain firmly in the middle-of-the-table but close to the top seven and the European spots.
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Team News
Manchester City and Pep Guardiola recently had the rare blessing of a fully fit and available squad but the former Barcelona boss will now have to be without Jack Grealish moving forward after he was forced off against Copenhagen in midweek.
Chelsea have had plenty of injury issues throughout the campaign and remain without captain Reece James but the likes of Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell and Christopher Nkunku are among those who have recently returned to the side.
Expected Line-ups
Manchester City: Ederson; Stones, Dias, Ake, Akanji; Rodri; Foden, Nunes, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland
Chelsea: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Chilwell; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Gallagher, Jackson; Palmer
What they Said
After last weekend’s defeat of Everton in which he scored a brace, Erling Haaland was criticised by Guardiola suggesting that his body language was ‘not good’ but had got ‘much, much better’ in the second-half when he notched twice.
In the aftermath of Chelsea’s defeat of Crystal Palace on Monday, Mauricio Pochettino was full of praise for his midfielder, Conor Gallagher, describing the former Palace loanee as ‘priceless’ after he notched a brace in their win.
When and How to Watch
This match will be played at the Etihad Stadium at 17:30 on Saturday February 17th and will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK. It can also be streamed live via the Sky Go app.
Prediction
The reverse fixture between these two sides finished up with Cole Palmer scoring a second-half stoppage-time penalty to ensure a 4-4 draw between the two teams at Stamford Bridge. Manchester City are the overwhelming favourites for this one at the Etihad but, as has been shown by that game, it could well be an entertaining encounter. A high-scoring City win that entertains the neutral is to be expected.