Almost certainly, by winning on the last day in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will make the playoffs to reach the round of 16. It plays at home, a match on paper within reach. And so the thinking is a little less gloomy than one might expect.
The Citizens, by the way, are a formation that can win against anyone and that, it is clear, can lose to anyone right now. So is Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, which alternates between important performances and others that have little to do with soccer played. In short, the Blues could give more, and this merry-go-round in the results seen over the past few weeks have led, moreover, to a move away from the ranking zone that really is important.
City, for its part, has only one goal now: to be able to grab a qualification to the next Champions League. At the moment, resoundingly, the reigning champions of England would also be out, but on Saturday night they have a chance to be able to take back the fourth place, the one that would be worth precisely a qualification. The two formations in the standings are two points apart – in Chelsea’s favor – but it is clear that Saturday could be turned around. We are sure, objectively, that it could happen.
Guardiola’s team is ready to play the ninth symphony: in the last ten meetings, in fact, eight times City won and the other two times came draws. We believe Guardiola will be cheering on Saturday night.
The Prediction.
Definitely a match of at least one goal per team. And since City, despite everything, remains favored, it is clear that it can give, in addition, at least three goals total. The three points to the hosts.
Manchester City-Chelsea likely lineups.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Bernardo; Foden, De Bruyne, Savinho; Haaland.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Dewsbury-Hall, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1
