Gabriel Agbonlahor has just made his prediction ahead of Sunday’s game between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
For Chelsea, they kick off the new Premier League season with an incredibly tough fixture, hosting reigning champions Man City.
Speaking via Football.London ahead of the Man City clash, Blues head coach Enzo Maresca confirmed Reece James is Chelsea’s only absentee. In fairness, the club captain would’ve been unavailable through suspension anyway before his injury problem.
The fact Chelsea go into the match with nearly a fully fit squad is a relief when you recall how unfortunate they were with injuries last season.
Gabriel Agbonlahor predicts shock in Chelsea vs Manchester City
Remarkably, talkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor is predicting Chelsea to record a surprise win at home to Man City in the opening round of Premier League fixtures.
Agbonlahor told talkSPORT (8:55am, 16 August): “This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think they will beat Manchester City. I really do. I feel that City losing Alvarez, Oscar Bobb injured, Jack Grealish hamstring problem in the Community Shield. I think this could be there game where Chelsea start off the season on a high.”
In fairness, the teams couldn’t be separated in the two league meetings last season, drawing both matches. However, Pep Guardiola’s side finished a colossal 28 points above Chelsea in the division standings.
Can Chelsea stop Erling Haaland?
If the Blues are to be successful on Sunday, they’ve got to try nullify the obvious threat of Man City striker Erling Haaland, who recently scored a hat-trick against them in a pre-season friendly.
Regardless of the Chelsea combination at centre-back, they’ve got to be switched on for 90 minutes with Haaland around and be wary of leaving space in behind.
It’s going to be interesting to see which central defenders get one of the toughest job in football right now. Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo look like the main contenders based off pre-season.
