Two titans collide both on the pitch and on the touchline as Manchester City host Chelsea in English Premier League action, a match that will pit Pep Guardiola against Antonio Conte in a battle of wits and tactical mayhem that should enthrall and entrance spectators.
Manchester City vs. Chelsea 2016: Start time, TV schedule, live stream, and 3 things to know
One of the highest-profile matchups of the weekend is pitting Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte against each other in a battle of two of Europe’s best managers.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Adding extra weight to the match is that there is a very good chance that the winner ends the weekend in first place in the EPL. Chelsea currently have a slim one-point lead over third-place City, with Liverpool sandwiched between them thanks to a one-goal differential advantage over City. A win for the Citizens would see them pass Chelsea in the table, and if it’s a wide enough win, they can pass Liverpool as well. That kind of importance adds extra emotion, energy, and urgency, making an already must-watch match one that will simply demand your attention.
TV: NBCSN (U.S. - English), NBC Universo (U.S. - Spanish), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.)
Online: NBC Sports Live (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K.)
Match Date/Time: Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET, 12:30 p.m. local
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
Three big things to know
- Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side has been incredibly impressive in their recent matches, with the goal they gave up to Tottenham last weekend being the first they allowed in the league since mid-September. Of course, City’s attack is a step above some of the other teams they’ve been playing of late, but with such a strong base of form and quality to work from, there’s every reason to expect that they can put in a premium defensive showing in this match.
- While City have recovered well from their run of poor form, they haven’t exactly been as impressive as they were at the start of the season either. They haven’t been scoring goals at the same rate, and have kept one clean sheet in all competitions in the last ten weeks. That’s not stellar for Guardiola and company, and they need to sort out how to show their quality more consistently than we’ve seen from them in quite awhile now.
- One of the stories of this match could be what each team is missing. City are without Vincent Kompany and possibly key reserve midfielder Fabian Delph, who can plug into any midfield role off the bench and put in a good shift. Chelsea are without a similar midfielder in John Obi Mikel, as well as the defensive pairing of John Terry and Kurt Zouma. Which team copes with those absences better will have a huge leg up, and that could determine the outcome of this particular matchup.
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