Chelsea Vs Manchester City: Fierce Duel At Stamford Bridge

Raheem Sterling is one of the Chelsea players that Pep Guardiola is wary of. (photo: twitter @sterling7)

JAKARTA - Chelsea will be in the spotlight this week in the Premier League for the second time in a row, as they welcome last season's treble champions Manchester City. The match at Stamford Bridge Stadium, London Sunday 12 November will be in a blockbuster match.

This match accompanies Mauricio Pochettino's outstanding 4-1 win over his former team, Tottenham Hotspur, last Monday. Meanwhile, Manchester City have secured a place in the last 16 of the Champions League by scoring three goals without reply against Young Boys in the middle of the week.

Pochettino's meeting with Tottenham last week ended in a 4-1 win for Chelsea. Although initially Spurs took the lead with a shot from Dejan Kulusevski, two red cards and a key player injury made Chelsea take advantage of the situation with Cole Palmer's penalty and Nicolas Jackson's hat trick.

Chelsea, after collecting just one point from two London derby matches in October, have opened this November with a straight win over Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham. However, their position is still in 10th place and still appears inconsistent at home.

Manchester City, on the other hand, have impressive performances, beating Bournemouth 6-1 and Young Boys in the Champions League. They have also secured a place in the last 16 with two games remaining in the group stage.

The final meeting between the two teams at Stamford Bridge ended with a 1-0 win for Manchester City in January. Although Chelsea won the FA Cup match with a score of 4-0 three days later, they have yet to score in their last six meetings against City.

Chelsea will doubt Armando Broja's presence due to a knee injury, while Reece James, who refuses the British national team's call, is likely to appear. In City's camp, Kevin De Bruyne is still absent due to a thigh injury, while John Stones is likely to miss out due to a thigh injury he experienced in the match against Young Boys.

With a tense atmosphere, this match is predicted to be a fierce battle between two strong teams at the top of the Premier League.

Moreover, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes that Chelsea will again compete for the Premier League title in the near future.

The last time Chelsea won the Premier League title was in Guardiola's first season at Manchester City in 2016-17. Since then, City, which has dominated the competition, have won titles in five of the last six seasons.

Although Chelsea managed to beat City in the 2021 Champions League final, the London club has experienced a lot of turbulence since then, and is currently 10th in the standings.

Guardiola, who will take his team to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, remains wary of them. "Chelsea remains one of the most important teams in England. Even though in recent seasons they have not been close to winning titles in the Premier League, they are still one of the strongest teams, no doubt," said Pep.

"Seeing their last game, they are still alive, have good spirits, are aggressive, and have a good pattern of play. Quality is there. This is one of the toughest matches we have faced this season. One day, Chelsea will again compete to win the title, and I think it will happen sooner," added Pep.

Chelsea went through a volatile start to the campaign under new manager Mauricio Pochettino, but Guardiola believes they will rise. "That's normal. They're getting better. Every manager takes their time - it's a new club, a new player, but they're going to be strong competitors because the quality in all departments is there," said Pep.

The two Chelsea players who have performed well this season are former City players Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling.

City's academy product Palmer, 21, moved to Chelsea in August after feeling frustrated for missing a chance at the Etihad Stadium.

"The reason is that he wants to get playing time. Now he gets it, so congratulations. He is a young man who comes from the academy, and if he succeeds, it's good for him and we say the best for him. I'm very happy for him," said Pep.

Sterling, who won four Premier League titles and the FA Cup in City, was recognized by Guardiola as a threat this weekend.

"He played very well, came back in his best moment, the best performance, (from) what I've seen lately. He's always created a tremendous danger for his opponents," said Pep.

Player Composition Forecast

Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling; Jackson

Manchester City: Ederson; Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Walker, Rodri, Kovacic, Doku; Silva, Alvarez; Haaland