Chelsea vs Man City live: Cucurella goal ruled out as Neville claims visitors ‘smell blood’ in Premier League

Gary Neville said Marc Cucurella’s goal for Chelsea had been rightly ruled offside against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday – and called the Premier League game “a real chance” for Pep Guardiola’s side to seize momentum in their title race with an Arsenal side who have “heavy legs”.

Restored full-back Cucurella ran on to Joao Pedro’s pass and fired past Gianluigi Donnarumma from a tight angle in the 16th minute at Stamford Bridge, immediately signalling to his ear to demonstrate his correct expectation that the effort would be disallowed for offside.

“He stepped ahead of the [defensive line],” former Manchester United and England right-back Gary Neville told Sky Sports.

“I thought as he made the run, he didn’t need to. A touch too, early I think.”

Chelsea vs Man City: Neville claims Arsenal caused ‘smirk’

Watched by Blues legend Frank Lampard, who is on the verge of winning promotion to the Premier League as Coventry City head coach, City were part of a tight, goalless first half against opponents seeking to end a run of two league defeats and move a point behind fifth-placed Liverpool.

“City will have gone to bed last night smelling blood,” said Neville, referencing Arsenal’s defeat at home to Bournemouth on Saturday.

“This is a real chance. They will be thriving today. They’ll have a little smirk on their face after yesterday’s result.”

Neville said City “have never been out of this title race” because of their “incredible spine”, namechecking Donnarumma, Ruben Dias, former Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland and head coach Pep Guardiola.

The former United captain added that City would not have the “heavy legs” of Arsenal, who are still in the Champions League and won at Sporting in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Victory at Chelsea would move second-placed City six points behind Arsenal with a game in hand before the top two meet at the Etihad Stadium on April 19 (16:30 BST).

Coventry boss Frank Lampard looks on at his old stomping ground! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/aNwSijoIsj

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 12, 2026

Chelsea team vs Manchester City

Cucurella and captain Moises Caicedo came in for Chelsea, supplanting Tosin Adarabioyo and Romeo Lavia from the 7-0 home win over third-tier Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals on April 4.

Defenders Levi Colwill (knee), Trevoh Chalobah (ankle) and Reece James (hamstring) were injured and midfielder Enzo Fernandez was serving the second match of a two-game internal disciplinary suspension.

Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen (groin) and winger Jamie Gittens (hamstring) were also out.

Chelsea starting XI: Robert Sanchez, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Jorrel Hato, Marc Cucurella, Andrey Santos, Moises Caicedo, Estevao Willian, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro

Chelsea substitutes: Ted Sharman-Lowe, Josh Acheampong, Tosin Adarabioyo OUT, Mamadou Sarr, Dario Essugo, Romeo Lavia OUT, Alejandro Garnacho, Marc Guiu, Liam Delap

Man City full line up vs Chelsea

City made one alteration from their 4-0 home win over Liverpool in the FA Cup six days earlier, Donnarumma replacing James Trafford.

Josko Gvardiol and John Stones were out with calf injuries, as was fellow defender Ruben Dias with a hamstring issue.

Manchester City starting XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Antoine Semenyo, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland

Man City substitutes: , James Trafford, Tijjani Reijnders, Nathan Ake, Omar Marmoush, Mateo Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Phil Foden

Where to watch Man City vs Chelsea: TV channel, live online streams

Kick-off on Sunday was at 14:00 BST (09:00 ET / 06:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra.

Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £28 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.

Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.

Chelsea vs Man City stats

• Chelsea are winless in their last nine Premier League games against Man City (D3 L6) since a 2-1 away win in May 2021
• After winning each of their first four Premier League games under Liam Rosenior, Chelsea have since won one of their last six (D2 L3). Since the start of this period (February 10, a 2-2 draw with Leeds), only Leeds (4) and Tottenham Hotspur (1) have fewer points each in the competition
• Absent vice-captain Fernandez has made more passes that have broken the opposition defensive line than any player in the Premier League this season (41), as well as making 36 line-breaking passes into the opposition penalty area, which is a joint-high with Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes
• Following a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle and 3-0 loss to Everton, Chelsea could lose three Premier League games in a row for the first time since May 2023 (4), last doing so without scoring in March 1998 (4)
• Seven of Chelsea’s last eight matches in all competitions have featured at least three goals
• City (51) and Chelsea (50) have had more shots following high turnovers than any other sides in the Premier League this season. In the meeting between these sides in January, City recorded 24 high turnovers against the Blues – the most by any side in a single Premier League match this season
• The Cityzens have won four of their last five away Premier League games against Chelsea (D1), which is as many as they had in their previous 26 league visits to Stamford Bridge (D8 L14)
• They have drawn both of their last two Premier League games, despite scoring first each time (2-2 v Nottingham Forest, 1-1 v West Ham). They last scored first in three successive matches in the competition without going on to win any in December 2003 and January 2004 under Kevin Keegan
• After netting 19 goals in 17 Premier League appearances before Christmas this season, Haaland his since scored three in his last 12 for – two of which have been penalties. Before Christmas, the striker was averaging 0.89 non-penalty expected goals per 90 in the 2025/26 Premier League; this has dropped to 0.32
• Bernardo Silva is making his 297th Premier League appearance, setting a new record by a Portuguese player in the competition by surpassing Luis Boa Morte’s 296, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (236) and Bruno Fernandes (223)
• After netting against West Ham last time out, Silva could score in back-to-back league appearances for City for the first time since March 2023