Chelsea
or Manchester City could land the first big blow of the Premier League title
race on Saturday when they meet at Stamford Bridge.
The current Premier League champions did the double over City last season,
winning 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium before an Eden Hazard double was enough
for a 2-1 victory in west London.
In fact, Chelsea have the overall edge in the recent head-to-heads having
lost only one of their last seven Premier League games against Manchester
City at Stamford Bridge (W4 D2).
Furthermore, Pep Guardiola has faced Chelsea seven times as a manager and
failed to win any (D4 L3), although City travel to London in red-hot form.
City have scored a remarkable 16 goals in their last three Premier League
games and are unbeaten in their last 14 league matches.
Team news
Eden Hazard is expected to start in the Premier League for the first time
this season.
Defender David Luiz completes his three-match domestic suspension for his
dismissal against Arsenal, with Andreas Christensen poised to deputise.
Midfielder Danny Drinkwater (calf) is the only definite injury absentee.
Sergio Aguero misses out for Manchester City after being involved in a car
crash in Amsterdam.
Full-back Benjamin Mendy is also unavailable due to a knee injury while
Vincent Kompany is not fit, even though he has been called up by Belgium for
their upcoming matches with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cyprus.
Match stats
Manchester City lost both Premier League matches against Chelsea last
season. Pep Guardiola has only ever lost three consecutive matches against
an opponent once before in his managerial career - he lost three in a row
against Real Madrid between April 2012 and April 2014 (one in La Liga, two
in the Champions League).
Manchester City have scored 21 goals in their six Premier League matches so
far this season. Only Newcastle United (22 goals in 1994-95) & Manchester
United (22 goals in 2011-12) have scored more at this stage of a Premier
League season, but neither went on to win the title.
Manchester City have the highest xG (Expected Goals) total in the Premier
League this season; 15.1 - suggesting that the quality of chances they've
been presented would see the average side score 15 goals in these matches.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have an xG total of just 6.3; the 11th best
tally.
Hazard has had a hand in five goals in his last five Premier League apps
against the Citizens (three goals, two assists).
Alvaro Morata has scored six goals in his first six Premier League
appearances; three with his head and three with his right foot. The top
goalscoring player in their first seven appearances as a Premier League
player is Mick Quinn (10 goals) followed by Diego Costa (nine goals).
Merson's prediction
This is a massive, massive football match. I cannot spate these two sides so
I'm going for a 1-1 draw. It should be a great game. I watched Chelsea at
Atletico and they were outstanding. It was one of the best performances I've
seen away from home in Europe for a long time against a proper team in
Champions League terms.
This is another big game for Chelsea though. We expect United to win at home
to Palace at 3pm and that would mean Chelsea would be six points behind them
ahead of kick-off at Stamford Bridge. I know it's still early in the season
but that's still a lot of points already. Because of that I can see both
sides being happy with a point.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (11/2 with Sky Bet)
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