Man City vs Chelsea: EPL preview – kickoff time, how to follow, stream

Who: Manchester City vs Chelsea

What: English Premier League
Where: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, United Kingdom
When: 5:30pm (17:30 GMT) on Saturday
Follow Al Jazeera’s live build-up followed by our text and photo commentary stream of the match.

Pep Guardiola’s manager compared Manchester City’s next two Premier League and Champions League matches to “finals” of the beleaguered English champions.

Chelsea travel to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, having already lost to league leaders Liverpool, who also have a game in the chasing pack.

Guardiola’s side must win a crucial match at Club Brugge in Belgium before being eliminated from the Champions League. They are fifth and two points behind the Blues.

Our people will support us, Guardiola said to reporters on Friday, “Our next two games are really really important, finals with us.” We are very close in the table]to Chelsea] even with the big big problems we had in the recent past”.

What has become of Man City?

City are still yet to recover from their surprise collapse, which saw Guardiola’s side only manage one win in nine games at once in all competitions.

The 4-2 defeat at Paris St Germain on Wednesday, when they squandered a two-goal lead, has left them one place outside of the Champions League’s playoff places with one game of the league phase remaining. It brings the winning streak to seven European games.

When asked whether City would make it to the Champions League next year, Guardiola responded, “We can make it. We can make it. Why should I think differently? We’re going to make it. I think it is going to happen. I am very very positive”.

Who are Man City’s new January transfer window signings?

City have gone on a January transfer window spending spree in an effort to repair the team that won an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title last year. At a price of more than $150 million, Viktor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Omar Marmoush have all been purchased.

“Vitor is young, he has a huge personality, needs time. If he’s here with us, of course, he can start”, Guardiola said.

“Khusanov has already settled for the fact that he played in the French league, handling tough, quick, fast players. However, he doesn’t speak a lot of English, so we will have to deal with communication.

” Marmoush will adapt quick. They will help us remain strong, and the club has made the right choice for these future stars for many years.

Introducing @ManCity’s three new signings ????

Which player will make the biggest impact for Pep Guardiola’s side? pic. twitter.com/lAXxra2YNU

As Man City entertain Chelsea, Friends reconnected in the dugout.

Chelsea are managed by Guardiola’s former assistant Enzo Maresca, who spent a season alongside the Spaniard in 2022-2023.

This isn’t the first meeting between the pair this season, however. Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic scored the goals that City won 2-0 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

The Blues ended a five-game streak without a win in the league, in which they lost twice, by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 in their last outing. The barren run, prior to Monday’s win at Stamford Bridge, dented an incredibly strong start to life in London for Maresca, whose side had unexpectedly become title contenders.

” I recognised his]Maresca’s] team from day one, even when we played them in the summer camp in the States, “Guardiola said”. Many things that we have discussed frequently over the course of our time together have started to come to mind. Really good. “

Guardiola is backed by Chelsea manager to retaliate.

Maresca, meantime, has rallied around Guardiola and said the struggling City boss needs support”. Peter has the ability to do this. But for sure, like any human being, he needs support in this moment, for the last eight or nine years, they were always on top, “Maresca told gathered media at Chelsea’s training ground.

Despite their hosts’ poor form, Maresca predicted that Chelsea would struggle to defeat City. When faced with a challenging situation, these players want to show how good they are with this team and these players. I don’t think there is ever a good moment to play City, “he said.

It’s typical for football players to experience these kinds of situations. For sure, they will be back to winning trophies soon. “

The Premier League table after Matchweek 22 ???? pic. twitter.com/SprwFXd21F

Can Maresca’s Chelsea take the Premier League title from Man City?

Maresca has spent many years coaching for the club before leaving to become the manager of Parma.

He returned to City to serve as Guardiola’s assistant during their treble-winning season after being fired by the Italian side and expressed his eternal gratitude to the club.

” My relationship with Pep and the club, is fantastic. After an Italian club fired me after two or three months, he said, “I will always be grateful to City for the trust they showed in me.”

On whether Chelsea are good enough to be regarded as genuine title contenders this season, Maresca responded:” No, not for the title. If you look over December and January, we are having a tough moment. “

Garnacho will Chelsea want to buy from Man Utd?

In the current transfer window, which ends on January 31st, Maresca acknowledged that he is “always looking at situations” and that the Blues have been linked with a move for Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho.

A move for Garnacho in particular, however, was completely rebuffed:” No, no. I’m happy with the ones we have in this moment, “Maresca said.

” We’ve said many times on the right side, it’s Pedro]Neto] and Noni]Madueke] and left side is Jadon]Sancho]. Misha]Mudryk] was with us and is now not with us. Tyrique]George] is a young profile that can help us so at this moment, we are OK. “

Chelsea team news

Even though they didn’t win against Wolves, Levi Colwill and Enzo Fernandez are expected to be ready.

Romeo Lavia is expected to miss a few more weeks due to an injury that will likely keep him out.

Man City team news

Both Jeremy Doku and Ruben Dias will miss the game. The former suffered a broken abductor during the opening half-time of Paris on Wednesday.

City’s three new signings: Marmoush, Reis and Khusanov are all in the squad for the game.

Head-to-head

This is the 177th meeting in a fixture that dates back to 1907 and a 2-2 draw in west London.

City are unbeaten in 10 matches against Chelsea, winning eight. The Champions League final victory over the Blues in 2021 was their final victory.

That marked the end of the London-based club’s three-game winning streak, which included a Premier League home win and an FA Cup home win that year.

Ready? ???? pic. twitter.com/SUMSGwyFLT

Source: Aljazeera