Chelsea v Manchester City - Stats And Facts

Manchester City travel to Chelsea on Saturday, looking to end the hosts three match winning streak against the blues. Thomas Tuchel’s side knocked City out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage last season, while delaying the blues title celebrations by winning 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium. Then came the now well-publicised Champions League final defeat, and Pep Guardiola will need to reassess his tactics against the London blues.

Despite City’s 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge last season, their record at Kings Road is not one to be particularly proud of. The blues have visited Chelsea 24 times in the Premier League, with the home side winning 14 to City’s 5.

City won their first Premier League encounter 4-2 at Stamford Bridge, then embarked on an 11-match winless streak, during which they only picked up 3 points from 3 draws, and two of those fixtures ended goalless. City ended that run in February 2010, with another 4-2 scoreline.

Prior to the Premier League, the two teams met 52 times in the league at Stamford Bridge, with the home side winning 25 to City’s 11, meaning there have been more draws than City wins.

City have conceded five goals or more on four occasions, the last time being in 2016, when Chelsea beat a weakened blues 5-1 in the FA Cup as manager Manuel Pellegrini prioritised the Champions League.

The blues biggest victory at Stamford Bridge is 4-1 in September 1978. It was the second time City have scored 4 on Chelsea soil, the first being a 4-4 draw in February 1937. The blues have only scored 4 goals at Kings Road on two further occasions.

That 4-4 draw started a sequence of four consecutive draws, two which ended 2-2 with the other finishing 1-1.

City longest unbeaten run in this fixture stretches over six matches between September 1988 and November 1993. The blues won four and drew two of those fixtures. That 0-0 draw in November 93 started City’s longest run without a win. The blues went 11 winless matches at Stamford Bridge, losing 8, including a 5-0 and a 6-0 battering. The longest losing streak is four matches, between March 2006 and March 2009.

In the Premier League era, City have kept just five clean sheets, while the homes side have stopped City from scoring on a rather depressingly 12 occasions, and between March 2003 and March 2009, City failed to score a solitary goal from 7 matches.

City have scored 23 league goals at Stamford Bridge. By comparison, Chelsea have hit the back of the net on 37 occasions, so the City backline will have to be solid at the weekend.

If you’re into omens, City have never lost a match at Stamford Bridge in the month of September. Of the three matches played, the blues have won two (4-1 and 3-1) and drawn the other 1-1. Let’s hope for more for the same on Saturday.