Chelsea vs Manchester City: Can Citizens Close Arsenal Gap on Trip to Faltering Blues?

by Geoffrey Ejiga | by Geoffrey Ejiga

image Chelsea vs Manchester City: Can Citizens Close Arsenal Gap on Trip to Faltering Blues?
Arsenal's loss to Bournemouth yesterday has blown the title race wide open! If Man City wins their two games in hand, Arsenal’s gap at the top will fall to just three points. But in front of the Citizens today is a desperate Chelsea side that kept visitors to a 1-1 stalemate last time out. Can City get the job done at Stamford Bridge this evening to keep the pressure on the Gunners? Or will Chelsea’s top-4 push prove too much to handle?

Man City’s Golden Opportunity to Hurt Arsenal

Arsenal may have just bottled the league in Matchday 32, but the real question is whether rivals Man City can capitalise on this chance. Knowing Pep Guardiola, he’s ready to make his opponents pay as he hunts for a 7th league title for Man City.

But this time around, his City side will have their work cut out for them as they face Chelsea, then Arsenal next. The Blues are a particularly tricky bunch as they enter with poor form but hold all the cards that could send City back without a win. Be sure to check out our experts’ Chelsea vs Man City prediction before you bet.

EPL Top 6 Standings

See the current Premier League Standings below:

PosTeamPlayedPoints
1Arsenal3270
2Man City3061
3Man United3155
4Aston Villa3154
5Liverpool3252
6Chelsea3148

Chelsea Push for Champions League Football

For Chelsea, all that’s left to salvage from a questionable season is a place in the Champions League come next season. The Blues have fallen out of the top 4 to 6th today, following Manchester United and Liverpool’s latest surge.

With just seven games left to play, Liam Rosenior will be under intense pressure to deliver a top 5 finish for the reigning CWC champions.

The new coach started brilliantly, but has led his Blues to only one victory in their last six league games. They managed to end a three-game winless run by thrashing Aston Villa 4-1, only to immediately slump with back-to-back defeats against Newcastle (1-0) and now Everton (3-0).

How Chelsea overcomes a Citizens’ side they haven’t beaten since 2021 (across 12 games) isn’t obvious. Either way, it’s something that would likely determine if the league title and if Rosenior is the right man to keep leading Chelsea.

Chelsea vs Man City: Key Players to Watch For

The two tasked with breaking the deadlock for the Citizens will be the front pairing of danger men, Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo. Both players just absolutely decimated Liverpool in their 4-0 win, with Haaland netting a brilliant hat-trick and Semenyo providing a goal and assist.

Here is what the pair have achieved this season:

  • Haaland leads in goals this season with 22.
  • Semenyo is the 3rd-highest goalscorer in the league this season (15).
  • Both Haaland (1.7) and Semenyo (1.2) average the 1st and 2nd-most shots on target per game.
  • Haaland also has the 4th-most assists so far (7).

For Chelsea, all eyes will be on Joao Pedro to deliver the goals. Pedro is on 14 for the season, placing him in 4th for most goals in the league, and has also scored 8 goals in his last ten Premier League games alone.

Behind him is Cole Palmer, who doesn’t need much introduction. However, unless the Englishman can break his 7-game G/A drought here, Chelsea’s offence might prove too weak to break the City backline.