Man City v Chelsea predictions: Back the Blues to deny Guardiola's Citizens

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Manchester City v Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 5.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Chelsea or draw double chance
1pt 10-11 Betfred, Hills

Team news

Manchester City
John Stones has completed a domestic suspension but Eric Garcia (fever) is set to miss out.

Chelsea
Mateo Kovacic (hamstring) is unlikely to be involved.

Match preview

Forget talk of a Champions League final dress rehearsal - this match is hugely important in its own right as City look to wrap up a third league title in four seasons while the Blues are out to enhance their chances of a top-four finish.

And while Manchester City took a huge step on Tuesday towards that elusive first European crown, their procession towards the Premier League title may be extended by at least one more day by Chelsea, who look value to avoid defeat at the Etihad.

City showed a few nerves in the opening half of their midweek match but they were rarely troubled by a Paris St-Germain side blunted by the absence of Kylian Mbappe and ran out comfortable 2-0 winners.

A tougher test is in store against Thomas Tuchel's streetwise Chelsea, who were probably a shade more convincing in their 2-0 triumph over Real Madrid which was enough to seal a well-deserved 3-1 aggregate success.

Tuchel has worked wonders in less than four months at Stamford Bridge and his team have the full respect of Pep Guardiola, having registered a 1-0 success over City in their FA Cup semi-final.

With the obvious exception of last month's 5-2 reverse at home to West Brom, Chelsea have looked watertight in defence.

They have conceded just ten goals in 24 matches under Tuchel (half of them against the Baggies) and have not needed to be anything special in attack as they close in on a major trophy double and Champions League qualification.

Huge progress has been made since the sacking of Frank Lampard, which came when Chelsea were ninth in the Premier League and on the same number of points as Southampton, who had played one fewer game.

However, the job is far from finished and Tuchel knows that a loss of focus could risk the double whammy of a trophyless campaign and a failure to finish in the top four.

There is enough leeway for Chelsea to lose at City and still secure Champions League qualification but Tuchel will want most of the heavy lifting done as soon as possible so he can put a plan in place for two massive finals, starting with next weekend's FA Cup showpiece against Leicester.

City's build-up to the Champions League final should be a lot more straightforward with Guardiola knowing that the Premier League title is as good as won.

He is likely to continue with his rotation policy and can do so safe in the knowledge that he will send out a hugely talented team on every occasion.

Physically, City should be ready to compete at a high level this weekend but there is the potential for a slight dip in their mental performance. Any team who accomplish such a long-awaited dream can be forgiven for taking a moment to savour their success.

Guardiola is a notoriously hard taskmaster and will urge his players to keep their foot on the pedal, but the weekend clash is the first of four opportunities for them to clinch top spot and there is always a chance of Manchester United slipping up at some point.

Chelsea's need of the points is greater and that may enable them to refocus more quickly and pick up at least a share of the spoils.

Key stat

Chelsea are unbeaten in 11 away games under Thomas Tuchel.

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