Manchester City begin their latest quest for Premier League glory with a blockbuster showdown against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola guided the Citizens to a record-breaking fourth top flight crown last term, defeating West Ham 3-1 on the final day of the campaign to pip Arsenal to the title.
That was the only trophy City had to show for their efforts last season, as they surrendered their European crown to Real Madrid and then suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to fierce rivals Man United in the FA Cup final.
The Sky Blues did exact some revenge on the Red Devils last weekend though, as they came out on top in this year’s Community Shield at Wembley, triumphing thanks to a 7-6 penalty shootout victory following a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
As for Chelsea, they decided to swap Mauricio Pochettino for Enzo Maresca over the summer despite ending last season strongly by storming to a sixth placed finish.
As tends to be the case more often than not, the Blues have been one of the busiest clubs in the summer transfer market, meaning they enter the 2024/25 season as something of an unknown quantity.
How the bookies view it: Blues facing uphill battle
New Chelsea chief Enzo Maresca could hardly have asked for a tougher start to the new Premier League season and that is reflected in the odds, with a Blues win as big as 10/3 on Bet 365, while a share of the Stamford Bridge spoils is an unfancied 3/1 with William Hill.
Man City go into their opening Premier League game of the season as odds-on 4/5 favourites with Bet 365.
Head to head: Chelsea up for the challenge
Chelsea will draw confidence from the fact that both Premier League meetings between the pair last season ended level, with the corresponding fixture at Stamford Bridge ending in a frantic 4-4 draw.
The two teams also came up against each other at the semi-final stage of the FA Cup last season, with Man City emerging victorious with a narrow 1-0 victory.
Players to watch: Haaland to hit the ground running?
After ending last season with 27 Premier League goals, Erling Haaland boasts a remarkable return of 63 goals in 66 top-flight appearances for Man City. The Sky Blues goal machine will attract plenty of attention at even-money (Bet 365) to open up his account for the season on Sunday.
Moises Caicedo was booked 11 times in the Premier League last season and his combative style will almost certainly be on show this weekend. Having averaged 1.57 fouls per-game last season, the Ecuadorian enforcer stands out at even-money (Bet 365) to give away two or more fouls during this heavyweight clash.
Predicted line-ups
Chelsea will be without injured duo Axel Disasi and Reece James, however a number of the Blues’ summer recruits could be handed their competitive debuts on Sunday.
Kyle Walker, John Stones, Phil Foden and Rodri all missed out at Wembley last weekend following their respective involvements at Euro 2024, so it remains to be seen whether or not the quartet will be in contention to feature in the capital.
Chelsea: Jorgensen; Gusto, Colwill, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Enzo Fernández, Nkunku; Jackson.
Man City: Ederson; Lewis; Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Nunes, De Bruyne; Bernardo, Haaland, Doku.
Anything else catch the eye?
Bundling up the aforementioned Moises Caicedo alongside Man City’s Mateo Kovacic to commit a foul will bring about an appetising 4/5 play on Bet 365.
Croatian midfielder Kovacic has never been one to shy away from a tackle and he is likely to be in the thick of the midfield battle at Stamford Bridge.
While the 30-year-old started just 16 times in the top-flight last term, he still averaged almost one foul per 90 minutes.
This English Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City will be played on Aug 18, 2024 and kick off at 16:30. Check below for our tipsters best Chelsea vs Manchester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
