Manchester City v Chelsea Preview

ENGLAND, United Kingdom- Manchester City and Chelsea, two true heavyweights of the Premier League, will renew their rivalry with a crunch meeting at the Etihad Stadium on the evening of Saturday 25 January 2025.

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Match background

Rather than a match which will have ramifications for the title, this clash is more about qualifying
for the top four or five and qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League. That’s a major
step down as far as reigning champions Manchester City are concerned, but a welcome
improvement for Chelsea, who have grown significantly under the leadership of Enzo Maresca.

What the teams are saying

Manchester City winger Savinho on his growing understanding with Erling Haaland:
“It’s very easy to play with him. When he’s in the area I try to find him and I know his movements.
We talk a lot, I don’t speak English but he understands me and I understand him. I usually pass the
ball to him because I know he won’t waste it and he’ll score. We talk a lot and we understand each
other. Whenever he’s in the area I’m always looking for him to get the ball to him.”
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on wanting his team to be more ruthless in attack:
“In football you need to be clinical, otherwise the game is always open. I always said that the
important thing is to create chances, because if you create chances it means that you are doing
the right things. Sometimes you create and you score. Sometimes you create one chance and you
score one. And sometimes you need to create 10 to score two.”

Players to watch

Savinho, Manchester City
While Manchester City’s struggles through recent weeks have brought gloom over the Etihad
Stadium, one of the silver linings has been the emergence of Brazilian winger Savinho as a true
game-breaker. After finally scoring his first goal for the club just under a month ago, his confidence
and form have sky-rocketed.

Cole Palmer, Chelsea

The former Manchester City player has established himself as Chelsea’s top man in the past 18
months, racking up goals, assists and highlight-reel passes that have made him the darling of
Blues fans. And he’ll be hungry to stick it to City again.

Head-to-head

In head-to-head stats, City and Chelsea have met in 179 matches across all competitions dating
back as far as 1907. The Blues have claimed 71 wins compared to 67 for the Citizens, while 41
games have been drawn.

The teams last met in August 2024, with Man City claiming a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to
goals from Erling Haaland and former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic. Chelsea’s last win over
the Citizens was the 2021 UEFA Champions League final – they are winless in 10 matches in the
rivalry since.