At 20:30 Beijing time on January 15, Manchester City will play at home against Chelsea. This campaign is regarded by the media as the "final" of the Premier League, and if the Blue Moon wins, it will almost lock in the Premier League title. At the same time, for Manchester City, this battle is still a revenge battle.
Title battle
After 21 rounds of the Premier League, City topped the table with 53 points, 10 more points than chelsea in the second place, and Liverpool, who played one less game, were in third place with 42 points. It is worth mentioning that this is the second time that Manchester City and Chelsea have met as the top two in the Premier League, the last time was in January 2015, when the second-placed Manchester City drew 1-1 with Chelsea.
Analyzing the importance of the game, The Sun noted that "at the beginning of the season, a lot of people thought Chelsea were the favourites to win the title. By January 15, their title was in jeopardy, and the season was four months away. ”
"Once defeated at the Etihad Stadium, Tuchel's side will be 13 points behind Manchester City. With just 16 games left and City so good, it's certainly a huge gap that can't be bridged. ”
While there is a good chance of losing the title after 22 rounds, the Blues are not bad, losing just 2 times this season and averaging more than 2 points per game. The problem is that the coaching of Klopp and Guardiola has raised the standard of Premier League champions rapidly.
According to a Survey by The Sun, 61% of fans believe City will definitely win the title. If the Blues are still looking to compete for the Premier League title, they will have to beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Revenge
For Manchester City, the campaign is still a real revenge battle. From 17 April to 29 May 2021, Manchester City suffered three consecutive defeats in the FA Cup semi-finals, the Premier League and the Champions League, and the defeat in the Champions League final dealt a heavy blow to Manchester City.
In the first leg of the season, Manchester City won 1-0 away to Chelsea. The goal of this campaign is not only to kill the Blues twice, but also to break the spell of being unable to beat the Blues at home since 23 November 2019 and avenge the Champions League final.
The Blues won 2-1 away from home last season, and if they win this campaign, Chelsea will have won manchester City away for the first time since 2008.
Manchester City hit a 12-game winning streak
City have won 11 consecutive Premier League games and scored 33 goals, the last time they lost in the Premier League was on 6 November to Crystal Palace, the fifth time in Premier League history that City have won 11 consecutive games.
It is worth vigilance that after 11 consecutive wins in the previous four times, Manchester City has been terminated at home three times, namely 1-2 defeat to West Ham in September 2015, 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in August 2019, and 0-2 defeat to Manchester United in March 2021, and the Blues are expected to become the fourth team.
One thing in city's favour is chelsea's recent poor form, with only 1 win and 4 draws in the last 5 Premier League games, despite only losing 1 in their last 15 Premier League games and having been equalised twice while leading.
To avenge the Champions League final, lock in the Premier League title and extend the winning streak to 12 games, Manchester City players will play with great motivation.