The Premier League is officially back! We are just at Matchday 1 and there’s already a spicy fixture awaiting us. Reigning champions Manchester City will travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Saturday as both sides will battle out to kick off their 2024/25 campaign with first three points.

Though it’s the first time Pep Guardiola’s side will be facing the Blues under new manager Enzo Maresca in the Premier League, both have already been acquainted with each other before. The recent pre-season friendly tour saw both sides enjoy a face-off with City emerging triumphant 4-2. The managers also know each other with Maresca having worked as Guardiola’s assistant at Bayern Munich before.

Speaking of the friendlies, it has been the same old story for Chelsea last month, winning just one game out of the six friendly games, enduring two draws and three losses. On the other hand, Man City too hasn’t been clean, winning only one out of four friendly matches while enduring defeat in the remaining three. However, they are coming with a close FA Community Shield win against Manchester United.

Chelsea vs Manchester City: Team news

Injuries

Chelsea

Chelsea captain Reece James remains the biggest absentee for the City clash. The right-back continues to nurse his hamstring injury. Nicolas Jackson missed the majority of the US tour after sustaining a knock in the ankle but managed to come off the bench in their previous 1-1 draw vs Inter Milan. He remains a doubt alongside Axel Disasi, who is recovering from his hernia surgery. Additionally, Omari Kellyman and Djordje Petrovic are also sidelined with major knocks.

Manchester City

Jack Grealish is one of the key absentees for Pep Guardiola’s side. The England international who had the whole summer to himself after not being summoned for UEFA Euros sustained a knock in training before the Community Shield. Likewise, he’ll be joined by Oscar Bobb in the recuperation room after fracturing a bone in his leg.

Predicted lineups

Chelsea potential lineup(4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, W. Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Guiu

Manchester City(4-1-4-1): Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic; Savinho, Bernardo, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland

Premier League head-to-head stats and prediction for Chelsea vs Man City

Total matches played: 50

Won by Chelsea: 27

Won by Man City: 15

Draw: 7

Manchester City are the obvious favorites to win the fixture but their previous encounter suggests that Chelsea can pose a threat to the Sky Blues’ defense. It could turn out to be a similar story on Saturday but with a lot of action. We reckon the score will be Chelsea 1-2 Manchester City.

Watch Chelsea vs Manchester City Premier League live on TV and live stream

Chelsea vs Manchester City will kick-off at 4:30 pm BST. Fans in the UK will be catered by Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. Meanwhile, USA spectators can catch the action live on USA Network, Telemundo, and NBC. As for the live stream, you can tune into nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, FuboTV, and Telemundo Deportes En Vivo.