England defender misses trip to Stamford Bridge but injury not as bad as first feared
Chelsea vs Manchester City
Competition: F.A. Premier League
Date: 4.30pm, Sunday 12th November 2023
Venue: Stamford Bridge, West London
Referee: Anthony Taylor Assistants: G Beswick, A Nunn Fourth Official: C Pawson VAR: J Gillett
Odds: Chelsea 4/1, Draw 11/4, City 8/11
Tickets: Sold out
TV: Sky Sports
Chelsea
Manager: Mauricio Pochettino
Squad (from): Sanchez, Bettinelli, Petrovic, Disasi, Cucurella, Badiashile, Thiago, James, Colwill, Gusto, Maatsen, Fernande, Mudryk, Ugochukwu, Palmer, Gallagher, Caicedo, Sterling, Madueke, Jackson, Broja
Injured: Fofana, Chilwell, Lavia, Nkunku, Chalobah, Chukwuemeka
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Form guide: WWLDW
Manchester City
Manager: Pep Guardiola
Squad (from): Ederson, Ortega, Carson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Akanji, Lewis, Phillips, Kovacic, Grealish, Rodri, Silva, Nunes, Foden, Bobb, Haaland, Doku, Alvarez
Injured: De Bruyne, Gomez, Stones
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Form guide: WWWWW
John Stones is ruled out of the trip to Stamford Bridge after suffering a muscular injury against Young Boys in midweek.
The defender was withdrawn at half-time on Tuesday night, and it was initially feared that he could be missing for some time, but manager Pep Guardiola today offered a more optimistic prognosis.
“He is injured,” he said at Friday's press conference.
“He is not ready for tomorrow and we will see after international break. I don’t know (whether he will be ready) for Liverpool.
“The doctor says it's not as bad (as first thought), but still I don’t know.
“When he is going to be fit again, he will be back.”
City won their last game against at Stamford Bridge 1-0, thanks to a Riyad Mahrez goal. Overall City have won 65 of the 175 games played against the Blues, with 39 draws and 71 defeats.
Predicted line-up: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Rodri, Bernardo, Grealish, Foden, Alvarez, Haaland
Score prediction: Chelsea 1 City 2