Mark Lawrenson predicts the scoreline for Premier League clash between Chelsea and Manchester City
Mark Lawrenson has predicted Manchester City to beat Chelsea 2-0 in the Premier League this weekend. Predicting his outcomes for the PL weekend on Paddy Power, Lawrenson said:
"It was a really good result for Chelsea at Tottenham on Monday and Manchester City just breezed past Bournemouth 6-1. You have to fancy City to win, they won again in the week and you just feel like they’re on it now. Chelsea 0-2 Manchester City."
Chelsea face City on Sunday, with both teams coming into the game with different agendas. For Chelsea, it is about stringing together a run of wins as they continue to have a difficult season. For Pep Guardiola's City, a win will see them continue to stay on top of the league table as they chase a fourth consecutive PL title.
Chelsea won their last game 4-1 against Tottenham Hotspur, handing the north London side their first defeat of the season. Spurs capitulated on the night, reducing themselves to nine men and Chelsea took advantage of the situation to register their biggest win of the season.
As for City, they rode on an impressive performance from new signing Jeremy Doku, who provided four assists and scored one goal to help his side beat Bournemouth 6-1 on the night.
Pep Guardiola believes Chelsea will challenge for the league title soon
Chelsea are currently placed 10th in the league tables, and are already 12 points off the top spot, just after 11 gameweeks. They finished 12th last season, and as things stand, are highly unlikley to get a top four spot, let alone challenge for the title.
City boss Guardiola, however, believes that Chelsea will be back amongst the best soon. He said (via Football London):
"They're getting better, new club, new players. Sooner than later they'll be a top contender, the quality in all departments is there."
Refering to his side's 1-0 defeat against Chelsea in the 2020-21 Champions League final, Guardiola added:
"Chelsea are one of the most important teams in England, they won the CL with Tuchel against us. It's one of the strongest teams, no doubts about that. They have a good spirit, aggressive, good patterns, it's one of the toughest games we have in the season but still, we go there optimistic.
"We are top of the league right now and we have to try and maintain the quality of the game. But sooner or later Chelsea will be fighting for the title, no doubt about that."