• Who: Chelsea vs Manchester City
• What: English Premier League
• Where: Stamford Bridge, London, United Kingdom
• When: 4:30pm local time (15:30 GMT) on Sunday, August 18
• How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have all the build-up and full-text commentary of the game

Manchester City will be without Rodri for the start of their Premier League title defence after Pep Guardiola revealed the Spain midfielder has been ruled out of Sunday’s opener against Chelsea.

The influential 28-year-old has only just returned to training after being forced off at half-time during Spain’s 2-1 win against England in last month’s Euro 2024 final.

While England trio Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker hope to feature at Stamford Bridge after their post-Euros break, Rodri has not been cleared to return to action.

Asked ahead of the match if Rodri could be involved against Chelsea, Guardiola told reporters: “No chance.

“He is in training. I don’t know, I haven’t seen him yet. He feels good. We’ll have to see how he feels after training.”

Rodri’s absence is an early blow to City’s bid to win a fifth successive Premier League title.

City would love to make a strong start to their title defence in west London, but Guardiola admitted fitness issues could hamper them on the opening weekend.

Foden, Stones and Walker are not fully fit after only returning to training in midweek following their holidays.

“I’m pretty sure they won’t be ready for 90 minutes, maybe yes, maybe 15 minutes,” Guardiola said.

“The important thing is everybody is back and, except for Oscar [Bobb], the rest are OK.”

Bobb was scheduled to have surgery on Friday to repair a fractured bone in his leg following a noncontact training ground incident on Wednesday.

Guardiola expects the young Norway winger to be sidelined for up to four months.

“Unfortunately, he had a big impact and got injured,” Guardiola said. “He is having surgery this afternoon.

“Hopefully, it will go well and he will be back in three or four months. We are so sad for him.”

Bobb’s setback follows the recent departure of Argentina forward Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid, and Guardiola said he could be forced into the transfer market for replacements.

“Maybe or maybe not, we will see,” the Spaniard said. “I’m really pleased with the squad I have. We will see. I’m set.

“We will see what happens in the market. We can continue to January in that way or maybe we will add some players.”

Manchester City must mind the gap as they visit London to face Chelsea

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, meanwhile, insists it is only a matter of time before his expensively rebuilt team challenges City for the Premier League title.

Maresca, hired from Leicester in the close season, is Chelsea’s sixth manager in a troubled period since Todd Boehly’s consortium bought the club in 2022.

The Blues finished 28 points behind champions City last term and have endured a summer of upheaval as Boehly embarked on a spending spree that has left Maresca with a dangerously bloated squad.

After leading Leicester to promotion from the championship last season, Maresca will endure a Premier League baptism of fire against City.

But the 44-year-old Italian, who served on City manager Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff prior to his one season with Leicester, is confident Chelsea can make life uncomfortable for his old employer if he is given time.

“For me, my personal opinion, the big difference in this moment between us and other teams that are dominating English football, is just a matter of time,” Maresca said.

“Clubs that have worked with the same manager nine years, eight years. We’re working with the same manager for one month.

“For sure with time, we are going to close the gap. Hopefully, it can happen very soon.”

City’s last trip to Stamford Bridge resulted in a thrilling 4-4 draw last November with former Cityzen player Cole Palmer scoring a last-minute equaliser from the spot for the Blues.

The match was one of two draws in the league meetings, which ended a six-game winning streak for Guardiola’s side against the West Londoners. Chelsea’s last win, prior to that run, was the 2021 Champions League final when Kai Havertz, now with Arsenal, scored the only goal of the game.

Indeed that game marked a third straight win for Chelsea against City in that campaign, including an FA Cup meeting, but City did win the league contest in England’s capital that season 3-1 with a young Phil Foden among the scorers.

Chelsea team news

Captain Reece James is suspended for the first three games of Chelsea’s season and is also being treated for a hamstring injury.

The Blues senior squad has swollen in excess of 50 players following the swath of summer signings, which could see Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall make their debuts on Sunday.

England midfielder Conor Gallagher, whose proposed move to Atletico Madrid stalled this week, has been training separately from the squad and will not be considered for selection.

Manchester City team news

Manchester City will be without Rodri, who tops the list of names that are set to miss the season opener after the Spanish star injured his hamstring during the Euro 2024 final against England.

Oscar Bobb is another confirmed absentee with a fractured leg bone, which means he will miss the first three or four months of the season

Jack Grealish remains a doubt having been forced to sit out the Community Shield through injury, while there are also doubts about the fitness of England trio Foden, Stones and Walker.

Head-to-head

This will be the 177th meeting between the clubs. Chelsea have won 69 matches, while City have won 65.

The first meeting came in 1907 and resulted in a 2-2 draw in West London in the old Division One.

The last encounter saw City squeeze a 1-0 win in the FA Cup semifinal in May.