Chelsea will host Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 pm. They know that they need to win this game to keep their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League alive this season. The Blues have lost two Premier League games in a row, one to Newcastle and one to Everton, and they are now in sixth place with 48 points, seven behind Aston Villa, who are in fourth.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s team come to West London with a lot of confidence after winning the Carabao Cup and then beating Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup quarter-finals last weekend. City are in second place with 61 points and will do everything they can to keep the pressure on Arsenal, who are far ahead in the title race.
Liam Rosenior has a tough choice to make going into this one. Captain Reece James is still recovering from a hamstring injury and he probably won’t play again until late April at the earliest. Enzo Fernandez, the vice-captain, is still out because the club gave him a two-game suspension for comments he made about his future during the international break. Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are all out because of injuries. Benoit Badiashile is trying to return to full health in time for the game.
City will be helped by the possible return of Ruben Dias, but the strong centre-back duo of Abdukodir Khusanov and Marc Guehi may keep the Portuguese on the bench. The visitors are more likely to win because they are in great form, and Chelsea are having a defensive injury crisis at the worst possible time.
Prediction: Manchester City will win the game at Stamford Bridge by a score of 2–1.
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League.
Pressure Mounting On Liam Rosenior
Liam Rosenior is under a lot of pressure because Chelsea’s hopes of making the top five are on the line. The ex-Strasbourg coach came to Chelsea in early January after having success abroad with French team RC Strasbourg. His job was to get the Blues back into the Champions League spots by the end of the season. But getting knocked out of Europe by PSG and losing 3-0 to Everton before the international break have made Rosenior’s rebuild look worryingly weak at the end of the season.
If they lose on Sunday, it will be their third straight loss in the Premier League, which hasn’t happened in almost three years. Rosenior needs to quickly find the winning formula again, or he might lose his chance to make the top five.