MY ACCOUNT
– Sunday’s FA Cup third round tie is third meeting between sides this season, with City winning other two
– Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0 in the Premier League on Thursday
– Recommended bet: Manchester City to win to zero
Manchester City and Chelsea square off for the second time in just four days with the Premier League giants this time fighting for a place in the FA Cup fourth round.
Sunday’s stand-out third round tie at the Etihad is widely expected to go the same way as Thursday’s league encounter, which City edged 1-0, as Chelsea head north with plenty of injury problems.
With up to 10 first-team players unavailable, Graham Potter’s hands are somewhat tied and, with Pep Guardiola likely to field a strong team, this could end up being a one-sided affair.
Team news
City have reported no fresh injury problems but Guardiola is set to make some changes for the cup tie.
Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish are obvious candidates to come into the starting line-up after they were both unleashed off the bench at Stamford Bridge and combined for the second-half winner.
The hosts could also give a first start since the World Cup to Argentina’s victorious forward Julian Alvarez, while Aymeric Laporte was pictured in training on Friday and could return to the squad but Ruben Dias is still out with his hamstring injury.
Chelsea suffered a triple injury blow on Thursday as first Mason Mount was ruled out of the league clash with City and then Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic went off during the game.
All three are set to miss the cup tie, while Reece James, N’Golo Kante, Armando Broja and Edouard Mendy are all still absent and Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell and Ruben Loftus-Cheek remain highly unlikely to return on Sunday.
Therefore, several youngsters are set to be given the chance to start at the Etihad, including midfielders Carney Chukwuemeka and Omari Hutchinson, while Lewis Hall is another option for Potter.
The stats
City, who are second in the league, have opened up a huge 14-point gap over Chelsea in the standings thanks to Thursday’s win, with the Londoners way off the pace down in 10th place.
The Citizens have won the last four meetings without conceding a goal. They won 1-0 home and away in the league last season, were 2-0 victors in the Carabao Cup third round in November and then secured another 1-0 win on Thursday in the league.
Chelsea have got the better of City in the last two FA Cup meetings between the sides, though, winning 5-1 in a fifth-round tie at home in 2016 when City fielded a young side, and then 1-0 in the 2021 semi-final at Wembley when Hakim Ziyech was on target.
Prediction
City eventually came out on top in the league clash, weathering a bit of a first-half storm at Stamford Bridge before flexing their muscles after the break.
Guardiola was able to use his bench as he looked for inspiration and experience with Grealish and Mahrez turning the game in City’s favour, while opposite number Potter was more restricted with his subs due to a mounting injury crisis at the Bridge, instead having to rely on youth.
Even though Chelsea have had City’s number in one-off games recently, including famously in the 2021 Champions League final when they won 1-0, they head to the Etihad with just one win in six games all told and their fragile confidence is unlikely to cope if they go behind.
City have won the last four meetings between the sides to nil and that could be a pattern that continues on Sunday, with City 21/20 with LiveScore Bet to win to zero.
