With a 10 point gap at the top of the table, Saturday’s game where Chelsea travel to the Etihad to play Manchester City is a do or die. Failure to walk away with all 3 points could see the title race as good as over. Is Chelsea, who currently are the closest rivals to City, up to the task?

In their last 5 Premier League outings, Chelsea have astonishingly drawn 4 times, and only won once. Other than a solitary 3-1 win over Aston Villa, Chelsea have drawn against Liverpool, Brighton, Wolves, and Everton. A bright spot, however, is that Chelsea has returned to winning ways, beating Tottenham and Chesterfield in the EFL and FA Cups.

As for Manchester City, while they are on a 7-game winning streak in all competitions, their form has seen a slight dip as of late. Prior to their 4-1 win against League One side Swindon Town, the mighty Manchester City had to labour to hard-fought wins over Arsenal and Brentford. Pep Guardiola’s men will have to be at their best against Chelsea, with the Premier League title theirs to lose, following Chelsea’s draw against Liverpool.

City have to deal with a COVID crisis at home that could cause the match to be postponed, after it was reported that members of staff and a player had tested positive. While Manchester City officials have declined to name those involved, Ederson, John Stones, Aleks Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling were all absent from the squad, with the infected player likely to be one of the lot. Pep Guardiola also has been in isolation, and City will surely be hopeful that he will return to the touchlines in this key game.

Thomas Tuchel does not have an easier time, however, as Ben Chilwel, Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva, and N’golo Kante remain doubtful. A bright spot, however, is the recent redemption of Saul. After having been exiled from the Chelsea squad, Thomas Tuchel finally played the Spaniard against Tottenham and Chesterfield, where he showed Chelsea fans just what he is capable of, and we are expecting to see him in action against the Premier League leaders.

With all at stake, expect to see a peak Chelsea to play for the win this Saturday. There will be rotations from the squad facing Tottenham as Thomas Tuchel will look to balance squad strength and fitness to keep their Premier League hopes alive.

Our verdict is a 2-1 win for Chelsea.