Chelsea are winless in their last six Premier League meetings with Manchester City (D2 L4), since a 2-1 away win in May 2021.
Since losing the Uefa Champions League final in May 2021, Manchester City are unbeaten in their last nine meetings with Chelsea in all competitions (W7 D2) – it’s their joint longest run without defeat against the Blues in their history (also 9 between 1936 and 1949).
No team has earned more points from their opening matches of the Premier League season than Chelsea (67), with only Manchester United picking up more wins (21) than the Blues (20).
This is the first time Chelsea have begun a top-flight campaign with a match against the reigning champions since 1971-72, when they lost 3-0 against Arsenal at Highbury.
Manchester City have won their opening Premier League match in 12 of the last 13 seasons, with the exception being a 1-0 loss at Tottenham in 2021-22.
Chelsea lost just one of their last 15 Premier League games in 2023-24 (W9 D5), winning each of the last five in a row. They last had a longer winning run between September and November 2019 under Frank Lampard (6).
Manchester City have won each of their last nine Premier League matches by two or more goals, the longest such run in the competition’s history, with their final three wins of 2023-24 all coming against London clubs (4-0 v Fulham, 2-0 v Tottenham, 3-1 v West Ham).
Enzo Maresca will be the fourth manager whose first Premier League game in charge of Chelsea has come against the reigning champions, after Claudio Ranieri in September 2000 (3-3 v Manchester United), Avram Grant in September 2007 (0-2 v Manchester United) and Rafael Benítez in November 2012 (0-0 v Manchester City).
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer registered more goal involvements than any other player in the Premier League last season (33 – 22 goals, 11 assists). He was also the competition’s top scorer in home games last term, with his 16 goals the joint-most a player has netted at Stamford Bridge in a single Premier League campaign (Didier Drogba 2006-07 and Frank Lampard 2009-10).
Man City striker Erling Haaland has scored 63 goals in 66 Premier League games, winning the golden boot in both of his campaigns with the Citizens so far. He’s also scored a brace in both of his appearances on the opening weekend (v West Ham in 2022-23 and Burnley last season), with no player ever doing so in three different seasons.
© OPTA