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 isn’t expected to be involved in the match as his move to Atletico Madrid is in limbo but outside of Reece James, most of the Chelsea squad that’s still there will be available.
The issue with that is Maresca won’t be able to name his entire squad to the bench 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 give a glimpse into what Pep Guardiola’s first-choice XI is now.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, Aug. 18 | Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
- Location: Stamford Bridge — London, England
- TV: NBC | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
- Odds: Chelsea +300; Draw +280; Manchester City -120
Storylines
Chelsea: Robert Sanchez will be set to start after Djordje Petrovic has been ruled out as there’s a chance that he could be moved on due to Maresca preferring Sanchez’s style. It’s a quick glimpse into the situation at Stamford Bridge where new managers come and go and the players are stuck in the middle to figure things out. More issues like this could arise in the coming weeks as Chelsea still need to complete more sales or loans.
Manchester City: Rodri will miss out in what is being billed as rest from his busy summer winning the Euros with Spain while Bobb is out with a leg injury. It could be a chance for Savinho to get his full debut for City after joining from Troyes during the summer. But like all things, City will go as far as Erling Haaland and Phil Foden take them. It’s a chance to take advantage of the uncertainty around Chelsea and match Arsenal by securing all three points out of the gate.
Prediction
City will start the match slowly but once the rust is shaken off they’ll blow by the Blues to kick off the Premier League season on the right foot. Pick: Chelsea 1, Manchester City 3
KVSP