Man City vs. Chelsea live score: Premier League result, updates, stats as Rodri starts against managerless Blues

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• Man City vs. Chelsea live updates
• Team news and lineups
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ETIHAD STADIUM, MANCHESTER — Chelsea and their rookie interim manager Calum McFarlane will try to disrupt Manchester City's Premier League title bid in a blockbuster early January clash.

Arsenal's hard-fought win at Bournemouth on Saturday put the Gunners seven points ahead of City, having played a game more. Pep Guardiola's men will be keen not to lose any further ground after a frustrating 0-0 draw at Sunderland on New Year's Day.

As recently as a month ago, after impressive performances against Barcelona and Arsenal, Chelsea looked well-placed to enter the title conversation themselves.

But form collapsed as relations between head coach Enzo Maresca and the club hierarchy disintegrated. The 2-2 midweek draw against Bournemouth proved to be Maresca's last at the helm, closing out a year when he led the Blues to UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup glory.

Life moves fast at Stamford Bridge under Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, and this could be McFarlane's only game in charge as Strasbourg boss and fellow BlueCo employee Liam Rosenior reportedly waits in the wings.

AllSportsPeople is following the Manchester City vs. Chelsea match live, providing score updates and commentary

Man City vs. Chelsea score

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Referee: Michael Oliver

Confirmed lineups:

Man City (4-3-2-1 right to left): 25. Gianluigi Donnarumma  (GK) — 27. Matheus Nunes, 3. Ruben Dias, 6. 24. Josko Gvardiol, 33. Nico O'Reilly  — 20. Bernardo Silva, 16. Rodri, 4. Tijjani Reijnders — 10. Rayan Cherki, 47. Phil Foden —  9. Erling Haaland,

Chelsea (4-2-3-1 right to left): 12. Filip Jorgensen (GK) — 34. Josh Acheampong, 5. Benoit Badiashile, 23. Trevoh Chalobah, 27. Malo Gusto — 8. Enzo Fernandez, 24. Reece James — 41. Estevao, 10. Cole Palmer, 7. Pedro Neto — 20. Joao Pedro

Keep track of every game and every goal via SN's live Premier League scoreboard

MORE: Why did Chelsea sack Enzo Maresca?

Man City vs. Chelsea live updates, highlights, and commentary

30 mins before kickoff: It's not just Calum McFarlane with experience of the Manchester City academy among the Chelsea contingent. Cole Palmer famously moved from City to Chelsea for £42.5million in August 2023. Tosin Adarabioyo, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens did not take the direct route to Stamford Bridge but were all reared at the Etihad Campus.

1 hour before kickoff: Enforced change in goal for Chelsea, with Filip Jorgensen starting. Robert Sanchez is not among a subs bench that features two goalkeepers. Marc Cucurella's absence means Malo Gusto being redeployed to left-back, with Josh Acheampong coming in on the right-hand side of defence. Estevao gets the nod ahead of former Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho on the wing.

Tonight’s team news! 🔵#CFC | #MCICHE pic.twitter.com/vekdkThoQa

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 4, 2026

1 hr 15 mins before kickoff: The teams are in and Rodri makes his first Manchester City start for three months, with Nico Gonzalez sidelined. If Pep Guardiola can have his key midfielder fit and on form for the second half of the season, it would be huge. Josko Gvardiol comes back in for Nathan Ake from the side that drew 0-0 at Sunderland, while Tijjani Reijnders in for Savinho is another injury-enforced change.

Your City side to face Chelsea 🩵

XI | Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly, Rodri, Bernardo (C), Reijnders, Foden, Cherki, Haaland

SUBS | Trafford, Ake, Doku, Khusanov, McAidoo, Mukasa, Lewis, Mfuni, R. Heskey

🤝 @etihad pic.twitter.com/8rPhMnvfR0

— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 4, 2026

1 hr 40 mins before kickoff: Manchester City's prints are weirdly upon this latest episode of the Chelsea managerial psychodrama. One aspect of Enzo Maresca's Stamford Bridge unravelling was a batch of stories linking him to the Etihad Stadium job as Pep Guardiola's successor, should the Catalan leave City this summer. Guardiola then said he had more or less no intention of doing any such thing, relations between Ex-City assistant Maresca and his Stamford Bridge bosses continued to deteriorate and here we are, with former City academy coach Calum McFarlane leading his first senior game in the visiting dugout.

Getty Images

2 hours before kickoff. Hello and welcome to AllSportsPeople' live coverage of Manchester City vs. Chelsea from St James' Park.

Man City vs. Chelsea kick off time

The Premier League match kicks off in Manchester, UK at 5:30 p.m. Local time.

Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:

Man City vs. Chelsea lineups, team news

City suffered a couple of injury setbacks at Sunderland last time out, with Nico Gonzalez  and Savinho  forced out of the action. Rodri  and Jeremy Doku  impressed when they replaced their stricken teammates at the Stadium of Light, but it remains to be seen how long each will be able to feature for here, given their own recent spells on the sidelines.

Nathan Ake  was an assured presence on his first start since mid-October. If Guardiola retains the Dutchman alongside Ruben Dias, expect Josko Gvardiol  to return at left-back to give Nico O'Reilly  a breather.

John Stones (thigh), Oscar Bobb (hamstring) and Mateo Kovacic (Achilles) all remain sidelined, with Omar Marmoush  and Rayan Ait-Nouri  on Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Man City starting XI (4-2-2-2, right to left): Donnarumma (GK) — Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol O'Reilly  — Silva, Rodri, Reijnders  — Foden, Cherki — Haaland

Man City subs:  Trafford (GK), Ake, Doku, Khusanov, McAidoo, Mukasa, Lewis, Mfuni, Heskey

Moises Caicedo's fifth booking of the season means the influential midfielder is suspended for this one, compounding Chelsea's pre-match woes.

Captain Reece James  or Andrey Santos  are most likely to play in midfield alongside Enzo Fernandez  in Caicedo's absence.

Marc Cucurella  faces a late fitness check but is expected to start at left-back. Fellow defender Levi Colwill  is out for the season with an ACL injury.

Chelsea predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1 right to left): Jorgensen (GK) — Acheampong, Fofana, Chalobah, Gusto — Fernandez, James — Estevao, Palmer, Neto — Joao Pedro

Chelsea subs: Slonina (GK), Merrick (GK), Adarabioyo, Delap, Gittens, Santos, Hato, Guiu, Garnacho

Man City vs. Chelsea live stream, TV channel

Here is how to watch the match in some of the world's major regions: