Manuel Akanji, Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez all come into Pep Guardiola’s starting eleven from the side that began last Tuesday’s Champions League last 16 first leg tie away at FC Copenhagen.
Of the eleven that kicked off in the Danish capital, John Stones and Bernardo Silva both revert to the bench.
Jack Grealish meanwhile is absent from the matchday squad after being forced to come off early with a muscular injury in our 3-1 victory over the Danes.
Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol is also currently sidelined as he recovers from an ankle problem.
Teams
CITY XI: Ederson, Walker (C), Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Foden, Alvarez, Doku, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Stones, Kovacic, Bernardo, Gomez, Nunes, Bobb, Susoho, Lewis
CHELSEA: Petrovic, Gusto, Disasi, Colwill, Chilwell (C), Caicedo, Fernandez, Gallagher, Palmer, Sterling, Jackson
Subs: Bettinelli, Chalobah, Gilchrist, Samuels-Smith, Harrison, Casadei, Madeuke, Mudryk, Nkunku
Tactics
Ederson will once again be the familiar figure in goal, shielded by a defensive quartet of skipper Kyle Walker, Akanji, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake.
Rodrigo will be entrusted with the key role of acting as midfield anchor with Kevin De Bruyne also in the engine room.
Alvarez, Doku and Phil Foden are set to be deployed further forward in support of Erling Haaland, who will once again spearhead the City attack.
Though such is the flexibility and fluidity coursing throughout Pep’s squad, some of those roles and responsibilities could easily change as the evening progresses.
Yet more evidence of City’s multi-talented flexible friends!
Goalden vision
Over the course of Pep Guardiola’s storied Etihad reign, City have also accumulated a deserved reputation for being amongst the global game’s greatest entertainers.
Glory has been accompanied by goals galore – especially here at home - and that is borne out by the remarkable fact that City have scored in each of our past 44 home fixtures.
It’s the longest scoring run on home soil in the Premier League with City having amassed 135 goals in the process.
Along the way, the reigning champions haven’t lost any of our last 22 home Premier League matches (W18 D4), with only Liverpool on a longer unbeaten run at home (24).
Special K
Kevin De Bruyne, who found the target again in Tuesday’s impressive 3-1 Champions League last 16 win at FC Copenhagen now needs just two more goals to bring up his City century.
The Belgian has also assisted a goal in all four of City’s league games in 2024, despite only starting two of them.
It means De Bruyne could become the 11th different player to assist a goal in five plus successive Premier League appearances and the first to do so for City.
De Bruyne also has 66 Premier League assists at the Etihad Stadium; only Ryan Giggs (84 at Old Trafford) has more at a single venue in the competition.
Stats and facts
Head-to-head
Chelsea are winless in seven league and cup games against City since beating us 1-0 in the 2021 Champions League final.
November’s 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge ended a run of six consecutive City victories in all competitions in this fixture.
City
City are vying for a 12th consecutive win in all competitions and a seventh successive league victory.
Pep Guardiola‘s team are unbeaten in 22 home league fixtures (W18, D4), with the 2-1 defeat by Brentford in November 2022 the only loss in their past 36 top-flight matches at the Etihad Stadium.
The reigning champions have gained 17 points from losing positions this season, three short of their highest figure in a Premier League campaign, set in 1993-94. Only Liverpool have come from behind to win more points in 2023-24.
City are also three shy of scoring 600 league and cup goals under Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.
We officially already have 599 in designated ‘home’ games, having netted twice in a Champions League match staged in Budapest in 2021 because of coronavirus complications.
The reigning champions have the chance to record back-to-back Premier League clean sheets for the first time since their opening two games of the season.
Chelsea
The Londoners have won six and lost six of their 12 top-flight matches since drawing 4-4 with City on 12 November.
November’s 4-1 win at Tottenham is their only away league victory this season against a side currently above them in the table.
Mauricio Pochettino has only won one of his 12 league and cup away matches as a manager against Pep Guardiola (D2, L9) - Espanyol’s 2-1 victory at Barcelona on 21 February 2009.
Chelsea have accumulated a league-high 75 yellow cards this season, including nine for striker Nicolas Jackson.
Conor Gallagher has netted three goals in Chelsea’s last two matches in all competitions, as many as he managed in his first 75 appearances for the Blues.
Both Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer scored for Chelsea against former club City in November’s reverse fixture - no player to have previously played for City in the Premier League has scored home and away against them in a single season.
