Chelsea host Manchester City in a huge Premier League fixture on Sunday. The two clubs head into matchday 17 of the season on the outside looking in.
The Blues are sixth in the Premier League table with 26 points from 48 possible. Frank Lampard continues to fail to get the best out of his players. Chelsea are winless in two straight league matches. Three points have team outside of the top four.
Manchester City are eight in the Premier League table. They too are on 26 points and have two games in hand over their title rivals. The Cityzens had their midweek match against Everton postponed due to players testing positive for coronavirus.
As it stands, Chelsea and Manchester City will go ahead on Sunday. Fitness and player availability could be an issue for Pep Guardiola. In addition, the Cityzens are expecting a busy January due to fixture congestion.
According to the latest reports, Guardiola will be without goalkeeper Ederson, full-back Kyle Walker, and striker Gabriel Jesus due to positive coronavirus tests. All three will be big misses for the manager. Eric Garcia and Ilkay Gundogan are both doubts but will take late fitness tests.
Lampard has two players on the Chelsea injury list. Both Hakim Ziyech and Reece James will undergo late fitness tests.
The home team won both fixtures in 2020-21. Chelsea claimed a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge last season in an exciting fixture. The Blues’ win gave Liverpool the title as Christian Pulisic and Willian scored on either side of a Kevin De Bruyne goal.
Chelsea are unbeaten in three straight matches against Manchester City in which they are the home side. Their last two meetings in the league at Stamford Bridge finished in a Chelsea win while their game in the EFL Cup ended in a draw.
Lampard’s team have the second-best home points total in the league with 15 from 24 possible. Their only home loss in 2020-21 came against Liverpool, 2-0, at the beginning of the season.
Manchester City have taken 12 points from 21 possible on their travels. Just two of their last six league away matches ended in victories.
The two clubs are evenly matched going into the weekend. Manchester City’s loss of Ederson could be a huge blow. Back-up Zack Steffen is likely to play in goal. Chelsea’s attack could take advantage of the shot-stopper.
Sunday’s match should finish in a stalemate as neither side can get the goals to win. It could be a defensive match as under 2.5 goal find the back of the net.
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