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Pundits’ City v Chelsea verdict
- Updated: November 30, 2016
Ahead of Manchester City’s key clash with Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday lunch time, we asked Sky Sports’ pundits to predict the outcome at the Etihad.
Antonio Conte’s side arrive in the north west top of the table after an impressive recent run that has seen them win their last seven league games, including a 2-1 victory over rivals Tottenham Hotspur last time out.
However, hot on their heels are City, who sit just a point off top spot, meaning there is everything to play for in a game you can see live on Sky Sports 1 HD.
So, who will emerge victorious? We asked the Sky Sports pundits to give us their views on the outcome of what could be a crucial match in the race for this season’s title….
Paul Merson
The most important thing for Chelsea is not to lose. I think Man City have to win, but I think it will be a draw and it will be open. I watched City the other day against Burnley and they were a bit lackadaisical for me. It’s like: ‘Oh, it will happen’ and I just don’t think you can do that. If they go behind, like they did against Burnley, then I think they will be in trouble against Chelsea. The draw will be the result for me in an entertaining football match.
Matt Le Tissier
If one of these two teams goes out and wins the game, you could be looking back on that and saying: “It was a big moment in the title race”. However, looking at the match, if you asked both managers honestly, they would probably say they would take a point right now.
Niall Quinn
Conte, and how his team have rallied and become the force they have over the last six to eight weeks, has been terrific, full of confidence and belief in themselves, ambition, vigour, fight, which you can see. Man City are pretty, but they have also dug results out lately [at Crystal Palace and Burnley], which really counts when you start adding all the points up at the end of the year.
So it is a really fascinating clash between two teams who are in pole position and it is a six pointer if ever there was one. Predicting it is difficult, but I think City being the home side have a little bit of an edge. It is so hard to say anything negative about Chelsea the way they have performed over the last few weeks. It is a blockbuster, but rather than just casually predict the winner of it, I am just going to try and enjoy the various match-ups around the pitch, the different styles and Sergio Aguero might just be the difference.
Jamie Carragher
It’s a big test as Chelsea are the in-form team at this moment, there’s no doubt about that but …
