The Premier League champions will be kicking off their new season this weekend as Manchester City take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The two sides drew against each other twice in the league last season, starting with a 4-4 extravaganza in October followed by a 1-1 stalemate in February at the Etihad Stadium.
During City’s recent pre-season tour of America, they beat Enzo Maresca’s side 4-2 before then going on to win the Community Shield by beating Manchester United on penalties.
Ahead of this opening match against Chelsea, one pundit has shared his prediction for how it could pan out for Pep Guardiola’s side as they look to begin their journey towards potentially winning a fifth consecutive Premier League trophy.
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Chris Sutton shares Man City score prediction for Chelsea showdown
In a recent column for BBC Sport where he previewed and predicted the scores for all of this weekend’s round of opening Premier League fixtures, Chris Sutton shared this assessment of City’s match at Stamford Bridge.
He said: “Several of Manchester City’s stars won’t play at all, because they only returned to training this week, but the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva will be able to play more minutes after featuring as late substitutes in the Community Shield.
“I have no idea what to expect from Chelsea, and I don’t even know what the club is trying to do anymore.
“Is their priority to build a team to win trophies, or is there some other business strategy going on?
“Chelsea have got some talented players and Cole Palmer will have a say again against his former club, but I still think City will find a way to win it. 1-2.”
Chelsea could be a tough test for City
While City don’t have a fully fit squad due to players arriving late from their holidays, it’s hard to gauge how both sides could fare in this game.
However, having beat Chelsea in pre-season and then secured a morale-boosting win over United at the weekend, City will be approaching this tough test in West London in a positive manner, which will hopefully help them walk away with all three points.
