Manchester City and Chelsea will go head-to-head in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening, in the first game since Enzo Maresca’s shock sacking.
Pep Guardiola’s side saw their eight-game winning streak ended in midweek against Sunderland, while Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth before Maresca and the board decided to part ways, which means Calum McFarlane will take charge of first-team duties.
Both sides have some injury concerns ahead of the game too, and this is how GIVEMESPORT expects the teams to line up as a result for this clash between the two heavyweights.
Man City Team News
City are set to be without a host of first-team stars for the game after Brazil winger Savinho and Spaniard Nico Gonzalez were forced off with injuries in midweek. They will join Mateo Kovacic, John Stones and Oscar Bobb on the sidelines with injuries and will miss the game.
Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush remain unavailable as they are currently at AFCON, but they could welcome Rodri back to the starting lineup for this game.
Man City Injuries and Suspensions
Player
Injury
Potential Return Date
Rayan Ait-Nouri
Int’l Duty
18/01/2026
Omar Marmoush
Int’l Duty
18/01/2026
Mateo Kovacic
Ankle
14/03/2026
John Stones
Knock
17/01/2026
Oscar Bobb
Hamstring
17/01/2026
Nico Gonzalez
Knock
04/01/2026
Savinho
Knock
04/01/2026
Guardiola Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Guardiola shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
“In this period to have two games away is so demanding.
You know, Christmas times always happen and it has been a tough two games at Nottingham Forest and [at Sunderland], so yeah, we have to see. “[There’s] not much time. We’ll see what happened. Rodri is back and Jeremy [Doku] – both have come from long, long injuries. So we have to be careful.
“[I will] talk with the doctors, with the physios and we will see. We miss Savinho, but yeah, more difficulties and the more stronger we will be.”
Man City Predicted XI
Man City Predicted XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Rodri, Reijnders, Foden; Cherki, Haaland, Doku.
Man City Predicted Substitutes: Trafford (GK), Ake (DEF), Khusanov (DEF), Lewis (DEF), B. Silva (MID), McAidoo (MID), Heskey (FWD), Mukasa (FWD).
With limited options to choose from at the moment, Guardiola is unlikely to make too many changes to his team, but could recall Doku, Rodri and Gvardiol to his starting lineup.
That could see £460,000-a-week duo Nathan Ake and Bernardo Silva named on the bench to provide some experience for the latter stages if necessary.
Pep Guardiola gave an exasperated response when asked about his future at Manchester City following Enzo Maresca leaving Chelsea.
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea could be without Spain international Marc Cucurella for the game in a major blow, while influential central midfielder Moises Caicedo is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Bournemouth.
Dario Essugo, Mykhailo Mudryk, Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill are all set to miss the game too, but Jorrel Hato could make a return to the squad after missing the last game with a knock.
Chelsea Injuries and Suspensions
Player
Injury
Potential Return Date
Levi Colwill
Knee
01/06/2026
Romeo Lavia
Hamstring
17/01/2026
Moises Caicedo
Suspended
07/01/2026
Marc Cucurella
Hamstring
07/01/2026
Jorrel Hato
Knock
04/01/2026
Mykhailo Mudryk
Doping Ban
Unknown
Dario Essugo
Hamstring
Unknown
McFarlane Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, McFarlane shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
“With Marc [Cucurella] it is positive [that he’s back training] and we will see with him. We’re undecided on that [whether he will play], I don’t have the full information on him as of yet.
“Otherwise we don’t have any other updates on players at the moment.”
Chelsea Predicted XI
Chelsea Predicted XI: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Gusto; Fernandez, Santos; Neto, Palmer, Garnacho; J. Pedro.
Chelsea Predicted Substitutes: Jorgensen (GK), Badiashile (DEF), Acheampong (DEF), Tosin (DEF), Buonanotte (MID), Gittens (FWD), Estevao (FWD), Delap (FWD), George (FWD).
Chelsea’s new manager is highly unlikely to rock the boat too much, and that should see a number of senior players starting, including former City star Cole Palmer.
That means the likes of Estevao, Liam Delap and Tosin, who earn a combined £280,000-a-week, are likely to be named on the bench.
UFC 329 is right around the corner, and it is set to be a classic. Paddy Pimblett‘s face-off with Benoit Saint-Denis catches the eye, but the event that will steal the headlines is undoubtedly Conor McGregor‘s return to the Octagon as he comes up against Max Holloway at the T-Mobile Arena in Nevada on the 11th of July.
McGregor will be ending a five-year hiatus, having not fought since he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. The Irishman and Holloway have history as well, having fought back in 2013 when the former won via decision. That meeting, however, was at featherweight, whereas, Saturday’s fight will be at welterweight.
It is a fight between the man with the second-most featherweight UFC title wins in Holloway (five) versus the man with the joint-third-most in McGregor (two). With the Irishman being 37 and out of the sport for the past five years, though, Holloway is heavily tipped to win the bout.
However, there are some within the game who give McGregor a good chance.
Jose Aldo Previews Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway
Jose Aldo celebrates UFC win
Jose Aldo has weighed in on the upcoming fight, and given he was knocked out in 13 seconds by ‘The Notorious’ back in 2015, there are few who know what McGregor is capable of quite like Aldo.
That experience might be why, unlike many, the Brazilian believes the Irishman has a decent chance at victory, despite the fact he has been out on the sidelines for five years while his opponent has faced, and beaten, some of the world’s best. Having said that, though, Aldo is still predicting Holloway to come away with the victory this weekend.
Speaking to Covers.com, Aldo said: “For me, it’s a very competitive fight. McGregor may be the betting underdog, but honestly, I think he has a better chance of beating Max today than he had of beating Khabib back then.
“The favourite is Max Holloway, not because he’s vastly superior, but because he’s still active. He’s fighting regularly, coming off strong performances, and staying in competition mode. Conor is an unknown quantity. We haven’t seen him fight in a very long time. We don’t know where his conditioning, timing, or confidence are at. That’s why I put Max one step ahead.”
However, ‘Scarface’ was quick to make clear that McGregor cannot be ruled out.
“That doesn’t mean Conor can’t go in there and knock [Max] out,” Aldo continued. “That can absolutely happen. And it wouldn’t be any disgrace for Max because Conor is still a world-class striker with experience, power, and the technical tools to win any fight.
“So I have Max slightly ahead, but I’m a long way from saying Conor has no chance. The biggest question right now is simply which version of McGregor is going to show up on fight night.”
Holloway and Aldo have a storied past too, with the American coming out victorious in their back-to-back fights in 2017, which effectively toppled the Brazilian’s era at the peak of the featherweight division.
On Holloway, Aldo said: “He’s an extremely intelligent fighter, with very refined boxing, great fight IQ, and an excellent ability to absorb shots. Today, he’s not exactly the same fighter he was years ago because he’s been through a lot of wars during his career. But he’s still an exceptional fighter.”
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Holloway’s and McGregor’s careers have diverged over the past five years. The former has remained a dedicated fighter who has taken down some of the best. The latter, conversely, has dealt with a major injury and spent a lot of time partying. But, as Aldo was keen to point out, McGregor and his legacy cannot be ruled out.
Legends aren’t invented, they’re forged, and Conor McGregor has forged out one of the most legendary careers in the sport. All eyes will be on him this Saturday.
The Roberto De Zerbi overhaul is well under way at Tottenham, with six new signings already arriving at the club.
Martin Dubravka, Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali have all been welcomed into the fold in the white half of north London and the Lilywhites are showing no signs of letting up in their big-money business just yet.
But with lots of incoming traffic there is an expectation that a number of current players will have to depart too and only Yves Bissouma – at the end of his contract – and Alejo Veliz have left as yet.
But that is about to change with a young player now set to leave the club too.
Alfie Devine signed for Spurs as a 15-year-old back in 2020 but has only made two first-team appearances, scoring once in the win over non-league side Marine in the FA Cup in 2021.
Now he looks set to depart the club, six years on from signing, as he makes the move to Preston North End on a permanent deal.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been lambasted by a former England international for his actions after his final World Cup appearance on Monday.
Ronaldo failed to prevent Portugal losing 1-0 to neighbours Spain in the last 16 of this summer’s showpiece international tournament. Arsenal’s Mikel Merino scored the only goal of the game in stoppage-time to set up a quarter-final tie against Belgium.
Questions are being asked of Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez, who leaves his post, after keeping 41-year-old Ronaldo on the pitch for the full 90 minutes again.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo has been slammed for his ‘arrogant’ post-match interview in which he highlighted his international achievements. “I played 23 years in the national team and won three titles,” the Al-Nassr star said. “Before Cristiano, Portugal had not won anything. The Euros was the most important. For me, 2016 has the same dimension as a World Cup, honestly.”
It’s a slightly undignified end to the World Cup career of one football’s greatest ever players. The general consensus is that this was one major tournament too many for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
World football’s governing body issue statement on the referee whose integrity has been called into question by the US President
Agbonlahor Blasts Ronaldo
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Jerome
Former England forward Gabriel Agbonlahor has pulled no punches with his comments on talkSPORT.
The ex-Aston Villa star said: “Ronaldo, at times, it was walking football last night. You have to be running the channels, creating space for other places, and the fact Goncalo Ramos – who scored the winner in the last round against Croatia – didn’t get on the pitch, says it all.
“Ronaldo, not his fault because he wants to play and the manager’s playing him, cost Portugal this World Cup. There will be a lot of players like [Bruno] Fernandes, [Joao] Neves, Vitinha, [Nuno] Mendes… they’ll be looking and thinking ‘legend of a player for the country, but because of him we’re going home’.”
He continued: “Remember the famous words from Jamie Carragher on Casemiro: ‘leave the football before the football leaves you’.
“You look at Ronaldo now and you’re only taking the Portugal job if he is not in the squad.”
Opta’s Supercomputer claims England now have a stronger chance than Lionel Messi’s Argentina
Agbonlahor went on to criticise Ronaldo for failing to console his younger teammates and making Portugal’s World Cup exit all about himself. He added:
“It was the walking, the lack of pressing, the lack of offering anything, throwing his arms up at his players. Even after the final whistle he’s stood there, it’s the Ronaldo show, he’s not going around to the younger players to check if they’re okay. Everyone’s going over to him to come and make sure he’s okay.
ITV Sport
“There was a moment at the end of the time where there was a break and Roberto Martinez comes out with his iPad. Ronaldo throws his arms up and Martinez is like ‘woah’. Ronaldo walks in a different direction. That’s been the problem: Ronaldo is bigger than Portugal, simple as that.”
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World Cup History Quiz
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When Jeff Stelling suggested Ronaldo lives on ‘planet me’, Agbonlahor added: “That’s the problem. People say ‘why does [Lionel] Messi have more favouritism from your average fan?’… because you don’t hear that from Messi.
“I think he said the EUROs are as big as the World Cup, it’s just nonsense.” Watch the clip in full below:
It will be fascinating to see what Portugal decide to do next once the dust has settled. Will they continue with Ronaldo leading the line for September and October’s UEFA Nations League fixtures, or will his extraordinary international career be brought to an end after 23 years?
