Overview
The focus of round 1 of the 2024-2025 Premier League will be the clash between Chelsea and defending champion Manchester City.
As usual, Chelsea is still very active in the transfer market under Todd Boehly. The targets they target are mostly potential young stars. In the case of Pedro Neto, he can immediately start in Chelsea's squad. The Portuguese player just completed his move to Stamford Bridge earlier this week.
However, with many young and inexperienced faces, experts say that Enzo Maresca will need more time to reshape Chelsea.
On the other side of the front line, Man City 's squad is basically the same as last season. Their only rookie so far is Brazilian winger Savinho. This midfielder is expected to help The Citizens solve the problem of lack of speed and suddenness in the wing corridor.
The departure of Julian Alvarez or the injury of Oscar Bobb significantly affected the depth of Man City's squad. However, the strength of coach Pep Guardiola's army is still formidable. They just defeated Manchester United on penalties to win the English Super Cup.
In a series of friendly matches in the summer of 2024, Man City defeated Chelsea 4-2 despite fielding many young faces. Therefore, despite having to be a guest in London, the defending champion will likely still win all 3 points.
Personnel situation
Chelsea does not have the services of Reece James due to injury. However, Maresca still has many options to replace the English defender.
On the other side of the front line, young star Oscar Bobb has a long-term injury. Rodri is also having hamstring problems and has not been able to practice again.
Meanwhile, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones left the door open for playing after only practicing a few sessions after the EURO 2024 final.
Expected lineup:
Chelsea : Sanchez, Gusto, W. Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Lavia, Caicedo, Neto, Nkunku, Palmer.
Man City : Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Bernardo, Kovacic, Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku, Haaland.
The match between Chelsea vs Man City takes place at 10:30 p.m. on August 18 (Vietnam time).
