Paul Merson and Chris Sutton disagree over Man City v Chelsea result prediction

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Manchester City will hope to make amends for their dismal Champions League midweek loss when they host Chelsea in Saturday’s late Premier League kick-off.

Manchester City were leading Paris Saint-Germain 2-0, only to then capitulate as the hosts ran out 4-2 winners in the French capital.

Pep Guardiola’s charges appeared to have turned a corner in recent weeks, but the loss to PSG proved that there’s still a lot of work to do.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have also struggled in recent weeks, though they did get the better of Wolves last time out.

Paul Merson and Chris Sutton have now predicted how Man City and Chelsea will fare on Saturday evening, and they both disagree over the result.

READ MORE: Enzo Maresca says £25m Chelsea player is nowhere near good enough at the moment

Paul Merson tips Manchester City to lose 3-1 to Chelsea

Merson, writing on Sportskeeda, believes Man City are still in dire straits and reckons Chelsea will run out 3-1 winners at the Etihad Stadium.

“I told you last week, you cannot get carried away by Manchester City winning 6-0 against Ipswich,” began Merson.

“You saw them against PSG, there is nobody who can win the ball back in that midfield!

“City couldn’t live with PSG when they started having a go in that second half. Chelsea can do the same in my opinion.

“If Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson can run at them, I think they will cause City some serious problems. Pep Guardiola’s men may not be able to live with that kind of pace and energy.”

Chris Sutton backs Man City to win 2-1 against Chelsea

Meanwhile, Sutton echoed Merson’s thoughts about Man City not having turned a corner, but he still feels they’ll have just enough to see Chelsea off.

“Well, so much for City being ‘back’ after beating Leicester, West Ham and Ipswich recently,” Sutton wrote on BBC Sport.

“What happened against PSG was more evidence that they are nowhere near their usual selves.

“Saturday is not just a case of Cole Palmer returning to his former club as a potential match-winner, because Chelsea’s manager Enzo Maresca is also back on familiar territory.

“This is a huge game in the race for the top four and it feels like anything could happen.

“I definitely don’t see City keeping Chelsea out, but my gut feeling is still that they will win this.”

READ MORE: Omar Marmoush already knows which Man City player he wants to learn from after making £59m move

Man City v Chelsea team news

Man City continue to have numerous injury issues, with Ruben Dias, Jeremy Doku, Rodri, Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake all still out.

However, John Stones is fit again, while signings Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis could be in line for their debuts.

Meanwhile, Chelsea will be without Romeo Lavia, although Enzo Fernandez and Levi Colwill could both return against the Citizens.

Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile are still injured, while Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable.