Chelsea vs Manchester City preview, prediction, team news and head-to-head

• Over 2.5 goals

• Both teams to score

• Manchester City to win

It’s a royal blue vs sky blue collision at Stamford Bridge in Sunday's Premier League blockbuster.

Back-to-back Premier League defeats to Newcastle and Everton have seen Chelsea drop to sixth in the standings, one point off fifth-placed Liverpool and seven off fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Chelsea, for the second game running, will be without vice-captain Enzo Fernandez due to a club-imposed ban, though peace talks this week were said to be successful.

Fernández has made more passes that have broken the opposition’s defensive line than any player in the Premier League this season (41).

City, meanwhile, fresh from winning the Carabao Cup, and then demolishing Liverpool in the FA Cup, now set their sights on closing the gap on title-favourites Arsenal, who play earlier in the weekend.

The visitors' nine-point chasm to leaders Arsenal arguably should not be taken at face value either, as Man City still have that precious game in hand and will welcome the Gunners to the Etihad next weekend.

On current domestic form alone, one would not bet against Guardiola's men coming up trumps.

Chelsea are winless in their last nine Premier League games against Man City (D3 L6) since a 2-1 away win in May 2021.

City, on the other hand, have won four of their last five away Premier League games against Chelsea (D1), as many as they had in their previous 26 league visits to Stamford Bridge (D8 L14).

Going down to Newcastle United and Everton without finding the back of the net in their last two top-flight games, Chelsea could suffer an unwanted 21st-century first on Sunday. The last time the hosts lost three straight Premier League matches without scoring was all the way back in 1998.

Chelsea Premier League form: 🟧🟧🟥🟩🟥🟥

Chelsea form (all competitions): 🟩🟥🟥🟥🟥🟩

Manchester City Premier League form: 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟧🟧

Manchester City form (all competitions): 🟩🟥🟧🟥🟩🟩

Chelsea captain Reece James is running out of time to shake off a thigh injury, while vice-captain Enzo Fernandez remains dropped for comments over his future, despite "making peace" with the club earlier in the week.

Filip Jorgensen is on the road to recovery after groin surgery, but Robert Sanchez is expected to continue in goal. Beniot Badiashil will hope to recover from an illness to be involved. Trevor Chalobah is still a few weeks away from returning.

Man City will be buoyed by the return of Ruben Dias, but it remains to be seen if the centre-back will start given Abdukodir Khusanov and Marc Guehi's impressive form. John Stones is expected to remain sidelined.

Phil Foden will be desperate to get another chance to impress after a deeply underwhelming two appearances for England during the international break, but faces very stiff competition from the impressive duo of Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki.

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Adarabioyo, Cucurella; Santos, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Estevao; Pedro

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O'Reilly; Silva, Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland

Neither Chelsea nor Man City fans should read too much into the Blues' demolition of Port Vale. It will most probably be another tough afternoon for Chelsea, with City looking like they are building momentum at the perfect time.

Yes, Chelsea have not lost three in a row in the Premier League in almost three years, but they have shown little to suggest they can reverse that run against the most impressive team in the country.

Guardiola’s men have not yet given up on their dreams of bringing the Premier League crown back to Manchester, so expect them to flex their attacking muscles and keep Arsenal honest.

Correct score prediction: Chelsea 1-3 Manchester City