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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 37
Manchester City v Chelsea
Etihad Stadium
Manchester, England
Sunday, 21 May 2023
Kick-off is at 17h00
Manchester City will be crowned
Premier League champions for the third year running if they manage to beat Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, May 21.
The Citizens went four points clear at the top of the table following their 3-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park last Sunday as title rivals Arsenal slipped to a 3-0 defeat against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium a couple of hours later.
Pep Guardiola's side have a game in hand on the Gunners and cannot be caught if they claim a fourth straight win over the Blues in the league, which would see them retain the trophy with two matches to spare.
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The West Londoners haven't fared much better under Frank Lampard, who returned to the helm on an interim basis on April 6 following the dismissal of Graham Potter.
Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge last Saturday, with Lampard having picked up his first win the previous weekend when they saw off Bournemouth 3-1 at the Vitality Stadium.
Lampard's team could still finish in the top half of the table but they cannot afford to drop any more points as Fulham are eight points ahead of them in 10th place, having played one game more.
Erling Haaland continued his amazing form in front of goal when he doubled City's lead against the Toffees to take his tally for the season to 36 in just 33 appearances. The Norwegian has never gone more than two matches without finding the back of the net and is just four goals shy of becoming the first player to reach the 40 mark in Premier League history.
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Raheem Sterling has struggled to replicate the form he showed for City since making the switch to the capital in the off-season. The 28-year-old winger has been partly hampered by injuries, although he did manage to halt a goal drought stretching back 11 games with a brace against Everton.
In team news, Nathan Ake (thigh) is the only injury concern for Guardiola, while Lampard continues to be without Armando Broja (knee), Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell, Kalidou Koulibaly (all thigh), N'Golo Kante, Mason Mount (both groin), Marcus Bettinelli and Mateo Kovacic.
Guardiola Lavished more praise on Ilkay Gundogun after his brace on Merseyside helped the Citizens to an 11th consecutive victory in the top flight, having also scored twice against Leeds eight days earlier.
"Ilkay shows again and again the quality, his importance and his commitment to all of us and the club," the Spaniard said.
"Not just scoring goals, but he has his momentum because against Leeds he was the player and today again. He can do everything and he does it well.
"He doesn't talk much. But when he does, everyone listens. This is the power of the leader. He's shown it in every training sessions, arriving on time, living his job 24 hours and plays like he's playing."
Lampard was pleased to see Sterling get back amongst the goals and acknowledges the team has been lacking a killer instinct in the final third this season.
"Small gains, small steps forward are important and Raheem's a player who has credit in the bank as such, as he has been a regular goal scorer in the Premier League and for his country," he said.
"To see him score there was like Raheem - arriving for a cross and then individual brilliance to score the second goal. So I am very happy for him and it is what we need across the top end of the pitch.
"Raheem has done it and he produced it again, but if you are going to win games when you have 76 per cent possession, you need to be killers at the top end of the pitch. Raheem has proven to be that. At the moment, we don't have enough of that."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Man City - 4
Chelsea - 1
Draws - 0
Matchday 37 fixtures:
Saturday, May 20
13h30: Tottenham Hotspur v Brentford
16h00: Bournemouth v Manchester United
16h00: Fulham v Crystal Palace
16h00: Liverpool v Aston Villa
16h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
18h30: Nottingham Forest v Arsenal
Sunday, May 21
14h30: West Ham United v Leeds United
15h00: Brighton & Hove Albion v Southampton
17h00: Manchester City v Chelsea
Monday, May 22
21h00: Newcastle United v Leicester City
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