Chelsea Chelsea

Man City Manchester City

WHEN AND WHERE

City begin the defence of our trophy and the pursuit of an unprecedented fifth straight English top-flight title at Chelsea on Sunday 18 August – with kick-off at Stamford Bridge scheduled for 16:30 (UK).

As always, the key moments of the clash will be detailed on the Official Man City App as well as on X: @ManCity.

TEAMS

CHELSEA XI: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella, Lavia, Caicedo, Fernandez (c), Palmer, Nkunku, Jackson

Subs: Jorgensen, Badiashile, Tosin, Veiga, Dewsbury-Hall, Madueke, Mudryk, Neto, Guiu

CITY XI: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, De Bruyne (c), Bernardo, Doku, Savinho, Haaland

Subs: Ortega Moreno, Walker, Stones, Ake, Grealish, Nunes, Foden, O’Reilly, McAtee

MAN CITY APP COVERAGE

The Official Man City App will have all bases of City’s trip to the capital covered.

You can keep across the clash via our Matchday Centre which provides blow-by-blow updates, analysis and reaction before, during and after the clash.

Starting around 75 minutes before kick-off, Cel Spellman will host Matchday Live alongside guests Richard Dunne and Clive Allen, meanwhile FG will be with Michael Brown provide insight from Stamford Bridge.

Next Fixture

All fixtures

Sun 18 Aug

Premier League

Chelsea

16:30

BST

Man City

Those with push notifications turned on in the app will be alerted to key moments throughout the game as they happen.

Alistair Mann and Brown will be on hand throughout the afternoon to guide fans through proceedings with live audio commentary while our text commentary continues.

A detailed match report, as well as reaction from Pep Guardiola and players alike, can also be accessed soon after the final whistle.

PEP GUARDIOLA PREVIEW

City boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Oscar Bobb will be sidelined for ‘three or four months’ after sustaining a fractured leg.

“It was in the training session and unfortunately he had a big impact and is injured,” the boss said.

 “He will have surgery and hopefully he will be well and we welcome him back as soon as possible in three, four months.

“We are so sad for him, but not because he was making an incredible pre-season, because that doesn’t matter, when [the] injury is a long time it is a problem and we’re looking forward to seeing him again as soon as possible.

“A good recovery as quick as possible and that’s all.” 

On facing Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, he said: 

“Yeah, we are happy to see him again. I saw him a few weeks ago in the States and we are looking forward to seeing him again,” the City boss continued.

“The job Enzo did at Leicester belongs to him, his players and backroom staff.

“My advice is to give him time and it will work. All managers need time – that is my feeling.”

PREVIOUS MEETING

City closed our pre-season tour of the United States with an entertaining 4-2 win over Chelsea in our previous meeting with the Londoners.

An Erling Haaland hat-trick, two of which came in the opening five minutes, and Oscar Bobb strike earned Pep Guardiola’s men a superb success in our final friendly ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

Former City man Raheem Sterling pulled one back for Chelsea before the hour and Noni Madueke added a second late on, but it did little to dampen what was a convincing display from Guardiola’s men.

LAST TIME OUT

Manchester City won the 2024 Community Shield with a 7-6 penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United at Wembley.

After an even game ended 1-1 with late goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Bernardo Silva, Manuel Akanji was our eventual hero from the spot.

City, still without several key players after this summer’s Euro 2024, created enough chances to win the trophy in normal time.

Instead, it looked like we might come out on the wrong side of the result when Garnacho put United ahead in the 82nd minute.

However, a spirited fightback spearheaded by Bernardo meant penalties were required to earn the seventh Community Shield in our history and Pep Guardiola‘s 18th major honour as our boss.

TV INFORMATION

City’s trip to Chelsea will be broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.

For those living outside the UK, click here to view the global TV listings, courtesy of livesoccertv.com.