Man City predicted line-up vs Chelsea as Kevin De Bruyne and Julian Alvarez start

Manchester City will be eyeing a seventh successive Premier League victory when they welcome Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.

City, who shared eight goals with the Londoners in the reverse fixture in November, maintained their excellent run of form in midweek, beating FC Copenhagen 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. That marked an 11th win on the bounce in all competitions.

The Blues head into the weekend second in the table, two points behind table-toppers Liverpool and on equal points with third-placed Arsenal. Both Arsenal and Liverpool play earlier on Saturday, meaning City may have to respond later in the day with some extra weight of pressure on their shoulders.

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Boss Pep Guardiola has encountered some unwanted issues on the injury front since City's last league outing last Saturday, losing both Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva in the midweek win in Denmark. While Grealish has been ruled out this weekend, a late call will be made on Bernardo ahead of kick-off.

Guardiola, however, should not face any hesitation when selecting his goalkeeper, with Ederson fit and available to start. The Brazilian has started all but one of City's opening 23 league matches this season.

As for the defence, Guardiola could easily stick with the same back-four that started against Copenhagen, with John Stones accompanying Ruben Dias in the heart of the defence once again. Though the former Everton man is still making his way back to full fitness after a recent injury, he could start with a view to being rested against Brentford on