Manchester City face Chelsea in a pre-season friendly. Here’s all the details you need on how to follow all of Saturday’s action from Ohio Stadium.
Manchester City continues their 2024/25 season preparations with an electrifying friendly against Chelsea in the United States this Saturday. Pep Guardiola’s squad is currently on a high-energy pre-season tour across the United States, having already faced off against Celtic, Milan, and Barcelona.
This weekend’s clash with Enzo Mareca’s Blues will be their final warm-up before they battle Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley next Saturday.
The Premier League champions will then kick off their title defense against The Blues at Stamford Bridge on August 18. Before that highly anticipated matchup, both teams will first thrill fans with a showdown in the US.
Chelsea, meanwhile, is navigating an intense preseason, having already played three matches with three more to go. The hectic schedule has even prompted head coach Enzo Maresca to voice concerns about the team’s heavy workload.
Despite the challenges, Chelsea showcased significant improvements on Wednesday, demonstrating a better grasp of Maresca’s tactical system compared to their initial friendlies. However, facing Manchester City is a formidable test, preseason or not. Both players and coaches are determined to secure a victory in this high-stakes encounter.
Sports Vibe will give you all the exciting details you need below.
When does Man City vs Chelsea kick off?
The match between Manchester City and Chelsea is scheduled to kick off at 10:30pm UK time. The fixture will take place in the United States at Ohio Stadium, a.k.a. The Horseshoe (at Ohio State University); Columbus, OH, on Saturday, August 3.
Is Man City vs Chelsea on TV?
The match will be streamed live on Chelsea TV. Alternatively, it will be streamed on CITY+ in the following regions:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vietnam.
And if purchasing CITY+ via the Man City App on iOS: Albania, Armenia, Cambodia, Georgia, Iceland, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
For fans living in countries not mentioned, they can click here to check your local listings.
Chelsea Team News:
Nicolas Jackson is set to make his preseason debut after recovering from an ankle injury sustained earlier this summer. Moisés Caicedo and Axel Disasi are also nearing readiness to join the action.
On the downside, Malo Gusto, Christopher Nkunku, and Benoît Badiashile experienced cramps in Chelsea’s last match, which might lead to a lighter workload for them—similar to Levi Colwill, who sat out Wednesday’s game. Fortunately, the Blues have managed to avoid any new injuries this preseason.
Meanwhile, Andrey Santos has departed from the tour to commence his season-long loan at RC Strasbourg.
Manchester City Team News:
The defending champions are still seeking their first preseason win, having lost to Celtic (3-4) and AC Milan (2-3) and drawn with Barcelona midweek (2-2). However, preseason results carry a different weight when you’re the four-time consecutive champions, led by the longest-serving manager in the Premier League (and the second longest in all of English professional football). Additionally, they’ve been playing with a largely unfamiliar squad of youth and fringe players in this year’s preseason.
“Normally we come here with 80% of the first team; this time, we are here with 20%, so it’s a big difference. The players deserve their holidays.” Pep Guardiola said in an interview earlier this week.
Nonetheless, with this being their final preseason match before next weekend’s Community Shield against Manchester United, Guardiola will be keen to avoid being outdone by one of his Premier League rivals, preseason or not.
Erling Haaland, one of the few first-team stars on tour, was forced off halfway through their last game with a muscular injury. Although he’s said to be fine, they will obviously handle him with utmost caution.
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