Despite Manchester City’s inconsistencies of late, Erling Haaland is still the most lethal striker in world football. He’s had 88 shots (4.07 per 90) with 50 of these attempts finding the target (2.31 per 90). Haaland scored and had 2 shots on target in the initial meeting between these sides on the opening day of the season, he also had 2 in this fixture last season in a game in which the Norwegian striker had 9 attempts on the Chelsea goal overall. Haaland is on penalties for Manchester City and will fancy his chances of dominating a Chelsea defence which has stuttered of late and could be without first choice partnership Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill, leaving Chelsea vulnerable to the efficiency of the City forward.

Enzo Maresca has tweaked Cole Palmer’s role slightly in this Chelsea side which sees him play centrally. This move has impacted his shot output slightly with the 22-year-old dropping deep more regularly but he’s still averaging 1.59 shots on target per 90, a record that has produced 14 goals for Chelsea’s star man. He’s on penalties for Chelsea and should also take ownership of free kicks in dangerous positions in the absence of Enzo Fernandez. Palmer is playing against his former club which usually adds an extra element to a player's performance. Palmer had a shot on target in the initial meeting between the sides on the opening weekend of the season. Chelsea are averaging 6.2 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season, a record only bettered by league leaders Liverpool so they will pose a threat to this vulnerable Manchester City backline with Palmer well placed to have at least 1 shot on target.

The best way to describe Nicolas Jackson is busy, the Chelsea forward is relentless in his pressing and off the ball runs. Jackson has committed 20 fouls across his 21 Premier League appearances this season (1.10 per 90). Jackson committed 2 fouls in the initial meeting between the sides earlier in the season, he was often left to chase lost causes as Chelsea were still getting used to Enzo Maresca and his preferred system. Jackson can get frustrated easily, in moments where Chelsea are under pressure and he isn’t seeing much of the ball, don't be surprised to see him bring down an opposition player out of frustration. Chelsea are averaging 11.9 fouls committed per game in the Premier League this season, a record only bettered by 4 sides. Chelsea have also collected the 2nd-most yellow cards in the Premier League this season (64).

Manchester City look nervous, they’ve given up 14 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season and this largely comes down to their inability to control games without Rodri. Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan are quality players, but neither fit the profile that Pep Guardiola wants from his holding midfielder. As a result, Manchester City are vulnerable to transition which has seen many sides get joy against them this season. Recent collapses to Brentford and PSG have once again raised alarm bells after a decent period of form. Only Liverpool are having more shots on target per game than Chelsea in the Premier League this season, whilst Chelsea’s defence is still a far way off being ready to mount a challenge at the top of the table, the attack is eye-catching and stacked with quality, as well as depth from the bench. The Manchester City goalkeeper has been forced into making 3+ saves in each of their last 6 Premier League games, further underlining how easy it is to get at this Manchester City team. Worryingly for Pep Guardiola, this run of games includes facing Ipswich, Brentford, West Ham, Leicester and Everton - all sides in the bottom half of the table.

After a slow start to the season, Phil Foden is starting to show the form that crowned him Premier League POTY last season. Of his 8 goal contributions in the Premier League this campaign, 6 have come in his last 3 games further emphasising how much the City star had dropped off in the early parts of the season. He’s scored back-to-back braces in his last 2 Premier League appearances against Brentford and Ipswich, there is a clear increase in the quality of opposition here but Chelsea have had defensive issues of their own of late and could enter this fixture without first choice centre back partnership Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill. Foden’s recent upturn in form will be worrying to a Chelsea side that have failed to keep a clean sheet across their last 5 Premier League games. Enzo Maresca will be mildly concerned that they haven’t been able to keep out Wolves, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Fulham or Ipswich over recent games making this trip to the Etihad a tough 1 for a flailing Chelsea backline with Foden the form player that can make a difference here.

Caicedo is having to do the job of 2 players at the moment, recent injuries to Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez means that Caicedo will likely be partnered with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall here. Caicedo has committed more fouls than any other Chelsea player this season (2.08 per 90) and has committed 2+ fouls in each of his last 5 Premier League matches underlining how much defensive work he’s currently having to get through. Caicedo has been shown 5 yellow cards this season which is a pretty modest total when considering his fouls record but this is the joint-2nd most in the Chelsea squad. Also worth noting that Chelsea have collected the 2nd-most yellow cards in the Premier League this season (64) with discipline being a consistent issue for Enzo Maresca’s side. Caicedo was shown a yellow card in the initial meeting between the sides on the opening day of the season and was also shown a yellow card in this fixture last season, with the central midfielder lucky to stay on the pitch on that occasion. The referee for this game is John Brooks who is averaging 5.60 yellow cards per game in the Premier League this season, you would expect the majority of these to be shown in Chelsea’s direction with their high card numbers this season.

Chelsea’s young squad can be really exciting at times but naive on other occasions. This inconsistency is what you would expect from such a young team and this has trickled through to their disciplinary record. Chelsea’s players can struggle to keep a lid on things, not only with their challenges on the opposition but also in their protests towards the referee. Only Southampton have received more yellow cards in the Premier League this season than Chelsea (65) with the Blues picking up 64 cautions. By contrast, Manchester City have much more of a control on their discipline having only collected 41 yellow cards this campaign, the 2nd-lowest in the division with a record only bettered by Brentford. This contrast is also reflected in the foul numbers for both sides, Chelsea are averaging 11.9 fouls committed per game compared to Manchester City’s 7.4 fouls committed per 90, the lowest in the Premier League. With such stark contrasts in foul records and disciplinary records, backing Chelsea to be shown the most cards seems a sensible selection here.

One area where Manchester City have been pretty consistent this season is corners, they’re averaging 7.91 corners across their 22 Premier League games this season which is a total that rises to 9.00 per game when looking at their home fixtures this campaign. City aren’t the most threatening from these situations, with only 5 of their goals coming from set piece situations this season (11%) but their corner count is usually high due to sustained periods of possession in the opposition half which usually results in the ball ricocheting behind on a few occasions per attack. Manchester City racked up 12 corners in this fixture last season and whilst they aren’t as dangerous a side this season, their corner numbers have stayed pretty solid - especially at home where they should be able to dictate proceedings against a Chelsea backline that could shrink under pressure with key players absent.