Manchester City vs Chelsea…probable lineups, injuries, predictions, tactics and much more

English Premier League leaders Manchester City will welcome the reigning champions Chelsea at their home turf in Etihad Stadium, as they seek to instill more sting on Antonio Conte’s men. Pep Guardiola’s side have received an injury boost on the return of English forward Raheem Sterling. The Citizens are on top form and have been enjoying an impressive campaign. However, Defenders Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and striker Gabriel Jesus are all doubts for the game. Fernandinho is also out injured and Fabian Delph is suspended.

Probable lineup: Ederson, Danilo, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Silva, Debruyne, Sterling, Sane, Aguero

Chelsea on the other side are suffering a scary season and such can be depicted by the way they gave up a lead against Manchester United, in which they lost 2-1. The Blues sit fifth in the league table and are facing the probability of missing out on Uefa Champions League should they continue with posting poor results.

Antonio Conte has three absentees for the tie against the league leaders. Defender David Luiz, midfielder Tiemuoe Bakayoko and young star Ethan Ampadu are all going to miss the game with injuries. Alvaro having failed to impress in the past few games is likely to be dropped in this game. This is a crucial match for Chelsea as losing it would actually dent their hopes of finishing in top four totally.

Probable lineup: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Alonso, Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Willian, Hazard, Giroud.

Tactics: This is a game which will be won in the midfield. Chances are that Conte may play Hazard as false 9 to beef up the midfield and play the same game he played against Barcelona in Uefa round 16 first leg at Stamford Bridge.

Prediction: Man City have upper hand to win the game since they are playing at home and are on good run of form. After demolishing Arsenal 3-0 in the past two matches, Pep Guardiola’s men will surely find the back of the net. Antonio Conte on the other side has good record over Pep Guardiola after both came to England and his team will also try to score in this fixture. Both teams will likely score in this game.

Verdict: Both teams to score.