Chelsea Confirmed Lineup vs Manchester City: Rudiger in defence; Pedro replaces Willian

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has made two changes to the team that started against Huddersfield Town, for their game against Manchester City on Sunday.

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger returns to the starting lineup for their trip to the Etihad Stadium, having missed the last game against Huddersfield Town. Academy product Andreas Christensen makes way for the German international. The rest of the backline remains intact, with Marcos Alonso preferred over Emerson Palmieri at left-back.

Sarri has made no alterations to his three-man midfield for the game against the reigning champions, sticking with the trio of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Ross Barkley. Mateo Kovacic finds himself on the bench, along with academy man Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

There is one change in attack for Chelsea, with Pedro coming into the lineup in place of Willian, who started against the Terriers. Eden Hazard features on the left-side, with January signing Gonzalo Higuain spearheading the attack.

Gary Cahill and Callum Hudson-Odoi are not part of the matchday squad, with Sarri revealing in his pre-match presser that the duo were going through minor fitness issues.

Manchester City, meanwhile, have recalled Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne to the starting XI, but Spanish maestro David Silva drops to the bench. Oleksandr Zinchenko starts at left-back.