After quite a hectic summer, new Chelsea manager and former Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca will kick off the season against the reigning champions. Conor Gallagher is not expected to be involved in the match as his move to Atletico Madrid is in limbo, but outside of Reece James, most of Chelsea’s remaining squad will be available.
The problem with that is that Maresca can’t bench his entire squad, so it will be interesting to see who joins Ben Chillwell on the outside looking in. On the City side, without Julian Alvarez and now Oscar Bobb (injury), this is a match that will provide a glimpse of what Pep Guardiola’s first-choice XI is now.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday August 18 | Time: 11:30 am ET
- Location: Stamford Bridge – London, England
- TV: NBC | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
- Chances: Chelsea +300; Sign +280; Manchester City-120
Storylines
Chelsea: Robert Sánchez will start after Djordje Petrovic has been ruled out as there is a chance he could be moved up as Maresca prefers Sánchez’s style. It’s a brief look at the situation at Stamford Bridge, where new managers come and go and the players are stuck in the middle trying to sort things out. There could be more issues like this in the coming weeks as Chelsea still needs to complete more sales or loans.
Manchester City: Rodri will miss the rest of his busy summer in which he won the European Championship with Spain, while Bobb is absent with a leg injury. It could be an opportunity for Savinho to make his full debut for City after joining from Troyes in the summer. But like everything, City will go as far as Erling Haaland and Phil Foden take them. It’s an opportunity to take advantage of the uncertainty surrounding Chelsea and emulate Arsenal by securing all three points.
Prediction
City will start the game slowly, but once the rust is shaken off they will breeze past the Blues to start the Premier League season on the right foot. Choose: Chelsea 1, Manchester City 3
