Manchester City will begin their title-defence quest with the clash against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
These two sides met each other just two weeks ago in a friendly when the Citizens picked up a 4-2 victory inspired by an Erling Haaland hat-trick.
Chelsea have indeed had huge problems in defence lately and these date back to the last season.
The Blues’ centre-backs and defensive midfielders make just too many decisive errors in crucial moments, allowing the rivals to get to easy opportunities for scoring.
Chelsea have generally struggled throughout last season. They did end 6th but only thanks to superb performances from Cole Palmer.
Manchester City did not thrive in the pre-season and they failed to secure a win inside the 90 minutes of action last weekend against Manchester United in the Community Shield.
The Citizens will rely on tradition, though, having won eight and drawn two of the previous ten matches against Chelsea.
The bad news for Man City’s fans is certainly a tough injury for Oscar Bobb who has been one of the standout figures for Pep Guardiola’s team during the pre-season.
Chelsea vs Manchester City Prediction
Manchester City have been far from their best in the pre-season and they will likely miss some important players like Rodri and Phil Foden.
However, the reigning four-time champions are still big favourites against an inconsistent Chelsea team.
The Blues lost three, drew one, and won one of the last five pre-season exhibitions. The run includes tough defeats to Celtic and Manchester City as Enzo Maresca’s men conceded four goals in each of these outings.
Knowing about Man City’s dominance in recent head-to-head matches against the Blues, we must fancy the away win pick at the 1.80 odds here.
