Both Chelsea and Manchester City have been suffering from poor domestic form this season, although it is spectacularly worse in the case of Chelsea, and they will be meeting at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Chelsea have little to play for other than pride in the remaining five matches. There can be no better an opponent than City, who have just qualified for the Champions League semifinals, to demonstrate that the blues still remain a top team.
After missing the last few matches due to suspension, striker Diego Costa is back available for selection. This undoubtedly hands manager a huge boost, but the consensus is that Guus Hiddink should stick with the preference for youngsters. Everyone knows what Branislav Ivanovic, Costa, or Fabregas can give to the team. It is time to see what the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek or Bertrand Traore can do on a regular basis.
City are given better odds of a win despite being the away team and it is understandable. Manuel Pellegrini’s team are backed at 13/8 (these odds are taken from Betway – read more) whereas Chelsea are at 17/10 to get a home win.
Matt Miazga has had two promising games, but his early substitution against Swansea last weekend raises doubts about his participation against City. John Terry, Eden Hazard, and Loic Remy form the key personnel unavailable for selection. Gary Cahill and Nemanja Matic are available for selection once again. Cahill may be partnered with Ivanovic in the centre of defence, as Hiddink may favour an experienced duo to deal with Sergio Aguero.
City will be without David Silva and Vincent Kompany. However, this is a team high on confidence after having just won against Paris St Germain to reach the Champions League semifinals for the first time in their history. Jose Mourinho sold Kevin De Bruyne without even giving the Belgian a proper chance, but it is Chelsea who are now regretting the loss of the 24-year-old. The former blue scored the only goal of the game against PSG. He has four goals in the last five games and will be the danger man on Saturday.
