Top stories today:

1. Chelsea come to the Etihad Saturday night

2. Jeremy Doku should have you excited

3. Top Wingers performing in the Champions League

4. Title Contenders remaining fixture difficulty

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0. Standings, Fixtures and Statistics

1. Chelsea Game Preview

Huge game taking place on Saturday night with Chelsea coming to the Etihad, the two other title contenders playing earlier in the day could see City needing a win to keep pace. Last time the two teams faced off was the 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge, a game filled with mistakes on both sides.

Injuries of Note

• For Manchester City, Josko Gvardiol is ruled out for two to three weeks (ankle), Jack Grealish out for two to three weeks (muscle). Mateo Kovacic and Sergio Gomez both available. Bernardo Silva being assessed and expected to return.

• Chelsea are without Thiago Silva and Chukwuemeka. Robert Sanchez returns. Gusto and Colwill are both available.

Interesting Stats

• Kevin De Bruyne has 66 Premier League assists at the Etihad Stadium, only Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) has ever recording more at a single venue.

• Jeremy Doku leads all Premier League players for chances created from open play per 90 minutes this season (2.68).

• Potchettino has lost more matches against Guardiola (13) than he has against any other manager across all competitions.

• Chelsea have only beaten a top six side in the Premier League this season once against Tottenham away.

• Only Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle have a higher xG than Chelsea (45.3) this season in the Premier League.

• No Premier League team has been handed more yellow cards than Chelsea (79). Committing the most fouls (303) in the league. Manchester have the fewest cards (39) and fouls (191).

Thoughts on the game

• We are now fully into the game every three days part of the season and straight away there are injury concerns. You saw Pep trying to rotate where he can. Everton an example of that, Brentford at home coming up on Tuesday a factor for the team selection against Chelsea.

• Expect that he will put out a relatively full strength team against Chelsea, one that can handle the press they will bring. Still expect a similar approach from them as at Stamford Bridge but a much better performance from City.

• Question is build up for City, do you bring in Kovacic that worked well away to Spurs (FA Cup) or stick with what worked in the Champions League, Stones inverting into midfield. Connor Gallagher will be one to deal with.

• Foden, KDB, Dias, Walker, Ederson, Rodri, Haaland I think are all nailed on as starters. Barring a desperate need to rotate or an opportunity too good to ignore, they start as many games as possible.

• With Gvardiol out, Ake I expect to start. Will have a tough task ahead but given how immense he has been in that role we can only be confident in him shutting down Palmer.

• I would guess Bernardo is back is available, would have heard more by now if he was going to miss it. Would have to start a game like this.

• Doku was impressive in the midweek game, handled the assignment well despite it being his first season.

• I think Brentford at home is the game he looks to target for the rotation, both Liverpool and Arsenal play earlier in the day so pressure mounts quickly on this game, on top of the energy and press Chelsea will bring.

Ones to Watch

• Raheem Sterling & Cole Palmer will be relishing the opportunity to play against their old club. Both involved in the goals during the 4-4 draw.

• Nkunku came on against Palace, the last Chelsea game, and had an impact on his side winning the game. Talented player that City faced when he played for RB Leipzig.

• Enzo Fernandez seems to be hitting the form expected of him and seen in an Argentina shirt. Key player for them that City will need to shutdown in midfield.

Predicted Lineup: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Ake, Rodri, Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden, Doku, Haaland

Predicted Scoreline: Manchester City 3 - 0 Chelsea FC

Let us know what you think the score will be this weekend in the comments below.

2. Why You Should be Excited About Doku

Jeremy Doku is an exciting prospect that has been the subject of discussion online about his potential and fit into this City team. So we decided to dive into it further with a thread. 👇

We are going to do a dive into Jack Grealish soon and his ability to ‘freeze time’ as a winger for City next, then follow that with a thread comparing the two wingers in more detail.

Let us know what your thoughts are on Jeremy Doku and his potential.

3. Comparing Our Left Wingers

The Athletic have done an article that looked at the top wingers in the Champions League this season and the roles they had. Given that we looked into the potential of Jeremy Doku (above) we thought it would be worth looking at.

Jeremy Doku get’s caught on the ball more than Grealish does and attempts more take-ons. Not a huge difference between the two for passing away from goal. Doku is not a winger who only tries to take on the opposition. Fitting in quick to the system. Grealish strength is more in his carrying of the ball, as you will see below, where that carry goes to.

Kubo and Bakayoko are two of the hottest names when it comes to winger transfers in the summer of 2024. Both very talented. Grealish and Doku up there with best in Europe, Grealish more so for progressive carries (second in the Champions League) than take-ons. Lamine Yamal is remarkable for his age, mixing it with the other players on this list.

This shows you the difference between Grealish and Doku this season, Grealish will provide a bigger range of options from that left side where as Doku is driven on getting the ball into the penalty box by going out wide. Grealish only operating on the left. Doku has only got into the box on the left side. Coming into the middle might be something we see Doku develop more into his game, makes sense with Grealish to operate inside much more given how well he can make combination plays with others such as Foden and Bernardo Silva.

Tells you more about the other wingers in the Champions League who have all put up high numbers of carries but where exactly are they heading to. Sane is one that comes inside a lot towards the middle like Jack Grealish. Saka known for his ability to cut inside for a shot or cross, that shows up here as well.

Let us know what you think about these graphics and if you would want any of these wingers at City.

4. Title Contenders Final Fixtures

With the three title contenders coming closer to the run-in period of the season, here is a look at their fixtures and how difficult they are. The Athletic ranked these in a recent article.

Thoughts

• All three teams have plenty of games you would regard as tough, even labelled Chelsea as a medium game for City,is one that could end up being quite difficult come Saturday night. Brentford Away being a medium rating, Liverpool are without Alison and Trent, playing at 12:30 is never an easy fixture for them.

• City have the toughest period in March, if they can get through that then the moment that will bring is huge. Can damped the other title rivals hopes going into April.

• All teams will drop more points, would be foolish to expect otherwise given how up and down this season has been so far. Always a crazy result each weekend.

• City have the best final 5 games if you need to win them all to win the league.

Let us know what you took away from this graphic.

5. Interesting News & Links

• Stats Bomb put together a chart to measure which central defender is the most aggressive. Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake both feature, more here.

• Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne have all been included in the WhoScored UCL Team of the Week. More here.

• City Xtra column by Amos Murphy on why KDB is playing with a point to prove in Europe this season. More here.

• City are expected to pay between €20mil and €30mil for Savio. More here.

• Jack Gaughan reported that Mateo Kovacic is understood to have sustained a knee problem in training and City were fearing that he was facing weeks out.

• Oscar Bobb winner against Newcastle has been voted the Premier League goal of the month for January.

• Jack Grealish expected to be out for 2 to 3 weeks according to Mike McGrath.

• Footy Headlines reporting that the City home kit for 2024/25 will be the usual sky blue colour combined with some navy and turquoise elements.

• Manchester City are one of three clubs keeping an eye on RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, according to BILD Sport.

• Wolves are eyeing a club record fee for reported Manchester City target Pedro Neto.

That’s all for this newsletter, we will be back with a review of the Chelsea game Saturday night. After that we will look ahead to the Brentford game midweek.

If there is anything you want to see covered in the newsletter, let us know in the comments below. 👇

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