Chelsea vs Man City: Enzo Maresca’s bloated Blues squad face Pep’s champions in huge Prem match – stream, TV, team news

PREMIER LEAGUE fans are in for an early treat as the first Super Sunday of the 2024/25 season sees Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea welcome reigning champions Manchester City to Stamford Bridge.

Former Leicester manager Maresca will be desperate to improve on Chelsea’s 6th-place finish last season.

GettyPedro Neto signed from Wolves for Chelsea this summer[/caption]

RexManchester City beat Manchester United to lift the Community Shield[/caption]

And it seems as if splashing the cash is a tactic the Italian is going for having already signed the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Pedro Neto while being linked with Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix.

However, pre-season proved that there is still a lot of work for the new Blues boss to do after seeing his side lose three out of their six friendlies.

This will be music to the ears of Pep Guardiola – someone who knows Maresca well having worked together at Manchester City.

Furthermore, City’s motivation to add more silverware to their ever-growing cabinet would have sky-rocketed after pipping local rivals Manchester United to the Community Shield last weekend.

However, no team has earned more points from their opening matches of the Premier League season than Chelsea (67) so this makes for an interesting spectacle.

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When is Chelsea vs Man City?

Chelsea vs Man City will take place on Sunday, August 18.

It is scheduled to kick off at 4:30pm BST.

Stamford Bridge in West London is the allocated arena for this blockbuster match and it can host approximately 40,341 fans.

Erling Haaland’s hat-trick fired City to a 4-2 win when the sides last met earlier this month for a pre-season friendly.

What TV channel is it on and can it be live streamed?

Chelsea vs Man City will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League in the UK.

Coverage is expected to commence from 4pm BST – 30 minutes before kick-off on both channels.

NOW TV subscription holders can stream the entire action through the app.

Alternatively, SunSport will have minute-by-minute coverage of the game through our live blog.

What is the team news?

Cole Palmer is expected to slot straight into the attack despite having minimal pre-season minutes courtesy of his Euro 2024 adventure with England.

And Chelsea’s talisman could be joined by in-form Christopher Nkunku and summer signing Pedro Neto.

However, captain Reece James is suspended for three matches having picked up a red card in last season’s Premier League finale – the full-back is also injured so he would have missed out regardless.

ReutersReece James will miss Chelsea’s first three fixtures[/caption]

Elsewhere, Oscar Bobb, James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly could all be handed starts following their impressive cameo’s in the Community Shield win against Manchester United.

Summer signing Savinho could also be handed some minutes with Julian Alvarez now out of the picture.

Kevin de Buryne has been tipped to reappear in the starting eleven, but Phil Foden, Rodri and Jack Grealish all look set to miss out once again.

What are the odds?

Chelsea to win 29/10

Draw 3/1

Man City to win 5/6

*Odds courtesy of William Hill are correct at time of publication