Chelsea take on the visitors Manchester City in the round 1 match of English Premier League. The match will be played on Sunday, August 18th at Stamford Bridge (London).
"Chelsea" quickly fizzled out after a forced change of ownership. The recent Champions League winner found itself falling out of the European qualification spots in the Premier League by 2023. Mauricio Pochettino was brought in to rectify the situation, and there was some progress under him. However, a 6th place finish combined with reaching the League Cup final (where they lost to Liverpool) wasn’t enough for Boehly. As a result, the "aristocrats" entered the summer with a new manager and several new signings. The focus was on Enzo Maresca, who immediately brought Leicester back from the Championship. Money was spent on Jørgensen (another goalkeeper), American defender Caleb Wiley, and winger Pedro Neto. However, they were forced to sell captain and academy graduate Gallagher, and Thiago Silva returned to finish his career in Brazil. Has the squad truly been strengthened as a result? And is the Enzo Fernández scandal completely behind them?
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"Manchester City" appears confident in their strength. The "Citizens" have added the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup titles to their trophy collection. They also managed to win a highly challenging Premier League title race against Arsenal, once again retaining the crown. However, they failed to defend their Champions League title, disappointingly losing to Real Madrid after a penalty shootout. In the final match of the season, they also lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup. The Manchester derby at Wembley was repeated a week ago in the Super Cup, where City, after a 1-1 draw and a penalty shootout, ultimately won. Guardiola hasn’t particularly sought to strengthen his squad, even though the club sold not just loanees like Delap and Doyle but also allowed Álvarez to leave for Atlético for a record fee. The only signing has been Savio Moreira, who shone at Girona. Rumors of Coman only surfaced in August, while João Félix didn’t attract interest, and Yan Couto was sent to Borussia Dortmund. Only after Bobb's injury did they seriously start looking for reinforcements in attack.
Last season, the "Blues" drew twice with the champions in the Premier League. Meanwhile, in the cup, the "Citizens" won thanks to a single goal by Bernardo Silva. Despite some issues, the "Citizens" are clearly stronger. They should confirm this with a win.
Prediction for the match: Manchester City to win.
