Chelsea FC and Manchester City square off later today in a Premier League clash. It should be a tight affair at Stamford Bridge, here are our predictions.
In what should be the biggest match of the weekend, Chelsea FC welcome Manchester City to Stamford Bridge this afternoon. Unfortunately, the Blues’ awful campaign has taken some sheen off the fixture, but it is set to be a tense one nonetheless.
Ahead of the game, I’ve had a whip-round the virtual Pride Of London office to get some thoughts from our staff writers.
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Khaled Abdallah: 2-1 Chelsea. Manuel Pellegrini is in full Roberto Di Matteo mode and does not give a damn about the league anymore. His only focus is on winning the Champions League and just like any other semifinalist they have a chance to do so. He couldn’t care less about staying in the top four this season so he might roll out some of the B-team players. Guus Hiddink might pause the tinkering and youth movement for a day so he can bring out some of the warhorses and try to win this match at home. Chelsea win handily with City grabbing a late consolation.
Ben Croft: 2-0 City. The squad are very disinterested which hurts to say but the Swansea game proved that. City are on a high after beating PSG so I think they’ll win this one. I can’t see anything other than a City victory.
Anoop Ramakrishnan: 1-1 OR a narrow Chelsea win. City under Pellegrini are famous for being inconsistent. Despite the euphoria over an impending 1st UCL semifinal appearance, I feel this is the game where the Citizens will get tripped up.
Eric McCoy: 2-2 Draw. With City more focused on Europe, and Chelsea not really focused on anything in particular, I expect a wide-open contest. Both teams have struggled with their defense at the best of times this season, so I see this one producing some goals. From a Chelsea perspective, it would be nice for their goals come from youngsters like Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Bertrand Traore. Play the youth Guus!
Drew Hooper: 3-0 City. As much as it pains me to predict it let’s face it, Chelsea are simply uninspiring. With Kevin De Bruyne it top form, and Chelsea looking unthreatening up top it should be a long afternoon for Chelsea. The youth may surprise and pull out a draw but as of late it seems unlikely.
Devesh Rasgotra: 2-1 to Manchester City. City will be buzzing after progressing into the Champions League semi-finals and they still have plenty to play for in the league. Chelsea should continue to play the youngsters and give them the chance to impress. To be honest, the only game I care about now is the one against Spurs in early May.
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Andre Carlisle: 3-1, City. Guus was the right choice to steady the turbulence, but comforts like routine and normalcy aren’t enough once there’s nothing left to play for. A more fiery manager might be able to press the buttons that’d make a sound defeat of City send a message to the 2016/17 iteration of the Premier League. Unfortunately, it looks as if Chelsea are going through the motions. That’s a bad place to be against a City team rediscovering its confidence. They’re sitting 4th in the league and have made it to the semifinal of the Champions League; sure they could go all out for the title Champions of Europe, or help maintain a stronghold on a top-4 domestic spot by beating an unmotivated Chelsea. Right.
Connor Tomko: 3-0 City. Pellegrini and his squad carry the momentum from their huge win over PSG into the weekend and run over a Chelsea side that have nothing to play for.
Brendan McDonnell: I’m getting some strong 2012 Chelsea vibes from City as we speak. Pellegrini is staring down a UCL semifinal clash as a lame duck manager and, I think, would do anything to ensure a trip to Milan. I think he uses Chelsea as his barometer and tries to demolish us before resting everyone vs. Stoke and the club formerly known as Newcastle.
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As for me? I’m going with a 2-0 City win. They need a top four finish and will perform accordingly. How do you think it will play out? Share your thoughts in the comments below!