Chelsea take on English Premier League champions Manchester City in a pre-season friendly match at Stamford Bridge this weekend. The match will take place on Saturday, August 18, 2023, with a 23:30 BST kickoff time. It will be the second time the two sides have met in pre-season, with City having won 4-2 in Columbus, Ohio, last week. Chelsea will be looking to improve on their performance in that match, while City will be hoping to continue their good form. City are unbeaten in their last eight meetings with Chelsea in all competitions and will be confident of victory at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, meanwhile, will be without a number of key players due to injury, including N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Wesley Fofana. Despite their injury problems, Chelsea will be hoping to give City a good game and will be looking to Eden Hazard to inspire them to victory. The match is likely to be a close and entertaining affair, with both sides having plenty of quality in their ranks. Here is a preview of the match, including the team news, predicted lineups, and a score prediction. **Team news** **Chelsea** Chelsea will be without a number of key players due to injury, including N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Wesley Fofana. New signing Raheem Sterling is expected to make his debut for the club, while Kalidou Koulibaly could also feature. **Manchester City** Manchester City are expected to be without Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake due to injury. Erling Haaland is expected to start up front for City, while Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva will provide creativity in midfield. **Predicted lineups** **Chelsea** Edouard Mendy; Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly; Reece James, Jorginho, Conor Gallagher, Ben Chilwell; Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz. **Manchester City** Ederson; Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Joao Cancelo; Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva; Riyad Mahrez, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden. **Score prediction** This is a tough match to call, but I think Manchester City will edge it. They have more quality in their squad and are in better form than Chelsea. I predict a 2-1 win for City.
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