Manchester City begin their pursuit of an unprecedented fifth straight Premier League title on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in their opening fixture of the 2024-25 season.
The two teams meet just 15 days on from their pre-season encounter in the United States, where the Citizens secured a 4-2 victory courtesy of a hat-trick from last season's Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland.
Match preview
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Finishing sixth last season and sneaking back into UEFA competition, courtesy of a late resurgence with five wins from five Premier League games in the month of May, was not enough for Mauricio Pochettino to keep his job at Stamford Bridge.
A mutual decision was made for the Argentine to depart at the end of the campaign after just 10 months in charge of the Blues, with Enzo Maresca becoming the club's fourth permanent managerial appointment since the takeover of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in May 2022.
Focused solely on coaching duties as Chelsea's hierarchy continue with their hectic, big-spending approach in the transfer market - recruiting 10 players thus far for over £150m - Maresca is hoping make a positive start to his reign as Blues boss following a challenging, yet experimental, pre-season programme.
Maresca, who won the Championship title with Leicester City last season, steered Chelsea to just one victory in six friendly fixtures over the summer, with their aforementioned heavy defeat to Man City followed by a 2-1 loss against Real Madrid and a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan on home soil last weekend.
Sunday's Premier League opener is quite the baptism of fire for Maresca, a former Man City assistant under Pep Guardiola who takes charge of a Chelsea side seeking to end a six-game winless run against the Citizens. The Blues have, however, picked up more points (67) than any other Premier League club from their opening matches of a new season.
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As has been the case for a number of years in recent history, Man City remain the team to beat in the Premier League after they celebrated winning a record fourth consecutive title in 2023-24 and their sixth top-flight triumph in seven seasons, fending off stiff competition from Arsenal to finish two points clear at the summit.
The Citizens collected 91 points and lost just three times across another memorable 38-game season to extend their relentless spell of dominance at the top of English football. A seventh Premier League crown in eight seasons is now firmly in their sights ahead of what could prove to be Pep Guardiola's ninth and final year in charge at the Etihad Stadium.
Similarly to Chelsea, Man City were not quite at their free-flowing best during pre-season, although they were without the presence of several senior stars during their tour of the States. Defeats to Celtic and AC Milan were followed by a 2-2 draw and penalty defeat to Barcelona, before coming out on top in a six-goal thriller against Chelsea.
Guardiola enters Sunday's contest in buoyant mood after he won his 18th trophy as Man City manager last weekend, with his side beating rivals Manchester United on penalties to lift the Community Shield, following a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium.
Man City are unbeaten in their last four league visits to Stamford Bridge, while they have won their opening Premier League match in 12 of the last 13 seasons, with the exception being a 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in North London three seasons ago.
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Team News
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Chelsea's only known absentee for Sunday's game is captain Reece James, who is nursing a hamstring injury but is suspended anyway after being sent off in the Blues' penultimate match of last season.
Malo Gusto is therefore expected to start at right-back, while Robert Sanchez is set to get the nod between the sticks ahead of new recruit Filip Jorgensen, with Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill the most likely central defensive partnership to provide protection for the Spaniard.
Romeo Lavia could be handed his first Premier League start for Chelsea, 12 months after joining the club following an injury-played 2023-24 season - like Fofana - and the ex-Man City academy star could link arms with Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in centre-midfield; Conor Gallagher is not expected to be involved, though, amid interest from Atletico Madrid.
Cole Palmer, Chelsea's top scorer from last season with 22 league goals, may operate on either flank if Maresca decides to begin with a three-man midfield, while Pedro Neto and Marc Guiu will both be battling to make their competitive debuts in attack, although one of those could be edged out of the first XI by Christopher Nkunku.
As for Man City, Oscar Bobb is ruled out for between three and four months with a fractured fibula, while the Citizens will also have to cope without star midfielder Rodri, who was forced off with a hamstring injury in the Euro 2024 final and is yet to take part in Man City training after an extended summer break.
There is also uncertainty over the availability of England trio Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones, who all missed the Community Shield last weekend and have only spent a few days back in first-team training.
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic is the most likely candidate to fill the void left behind by Rodri in the deep-lying midfield role, and the Croatian could be supported in the middle of the pitch by either Matheus Nunes, Bernardo Silva or Kevin De Bruyne.
The absence of Bobb could see new signing Savinho handed his Premier League debut on the right, as Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish battle for a start on the left, with Haaland unsurprisingly leading the line.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Gusto, W. Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Lavia, Caicedo; Neto, Nkunku, Palmer
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Bernardo, Kovacic; Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland
We say: Chelsea 1-3 Manchester City
If last season's Stamford Bridge showdown is anything to go by - a thrilling 4-4 draw in November last year - then we could be in for an entertaining, end-to-end contest on Sunday between two teams hoping to kick-start the new season with a statement victory.
The absence of Rodri is a huge blow for Man City, who struggled without his presence last season, but they remain a formidable outfit who will likely have plenty of joy in the final third against a defensively-frail Chelsea side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
