Chelsea v Manchester City live stream, Saturday 25 September, 12:30pm BST
Two Premier League title contenders go head-to-head on Saturday as Chelsea host Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are top of the table after five rounds of fixtures, having taken 13 points from a possible 15. Their latest victory came at the expense of Tottenham, as Thomas Tuchel’s side ran out 3-0 winners at the home of their London rivals. Spurs started last Sunday’s match brightly, but an in-game shift from Tuchel after 35 minutes proved decisive. The Chelsea boss switched from a 3-4-2-1 formation to a 3-5-2, and his side went on to win comfortably.
It is still early days but Chelsea look like the most balanced team in the division right now. They have still only conceded one goal, and that was a penalty against Liverpool after they had been reduced to 10 men. Romelu Lukaku did not get on the scoresheet last time out, yet Chelsea still scored three times. It is not hard to see why the European champions are now the bookmakers’ favourites to win the title.
Manchester City were held to a 0-0 draw by Southampton last weekend. It was a flat performance from Pep Guardiola’s side, who did not create as many chances as usual against dogged opponents.
The simplistic conclusion is that City are missing a traditional centre-forward like Harry Kane, but it is worth pointing out that they hit six past RB Leipzig a few days prior. City will score plenty of goals this term; whether or not they have be enough to win the title remains to be seen.
Chelsea will hope to have Edouard Mendy available again, although Kepa Arrizabalaga did a good job of filling in against Tottenham. Christian Pulisic could also be back in the matchday squad, but Kai Havertz and Mason Mount are likely to continue in support of Romelu Lukaku.
Manchester City will be unable to call upon the services of John Stones and Aymeric Laporte for the trip to London, so Nathan Ake is likely to partner Ruben Dias at centre-back. Rodri and Oleks Zinchenko are both doubts, but Ilkay Gundogan is working hard to be fit after picking up a knock.
Kick-off is at 12:30pm BST and the game is being shown live on BT Sport 1 in the UK.
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UK TV schedule
VPN guide
Use a VPN to watch Premier league football from outside your country
If you’re out of the country for a round of Premier League fixtures, then annoyingly your domestic on-demand services won’t work – the broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!). You'll be blocked from watching it, which is not ideal if you’ve paid up for a subscription and still want to catch Steve Bruce’s extra-red face without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
But assistance is on hand. To get around that, all you have to do is get a Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and won't automatically block the service you've paid for. All the info going between is entirely encrypted – and that's a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, including:
UK TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for UK subscribers
Sky Sports and BT Sport are the two main players once again, but Amazon also have a slice of the pie in 2021/22.
US TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for US subscribers
NBC Sports Group are the Premier League rights holders, with the Peacock Premium streaming platform showing even more than the 175 games it aired last season, with other matches split between NBCSN channel, CNBC and the over-the-air NBC broadcast channel. If you pick up a fuboTV subscription for the games not on Peacock Premium, you'll be able to watch every game.
Head back to our VPN advice so you can take advantage when you're out of the country.
Canada TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Canadian subscribers
DAZN subscribers can watch every single Premier League game in 2021/22 – and it gets better. After a one-month free trial, you'll only have to pay a rolling $20-a-month fee, or make it an annual subscription of $150.
The broadcaster also has all the rights to Champions League and Europa League games in Canada, too.
Want in while you're out of Canada? Scroll back up and check out the VPN offers above.
Australia TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Australian subscribers
Optus Sport are offering every game of the Premier League season for just $14.99/month for non-subscribers, which you can get via a Fetch TV box and other friendly streaming devices.
To take advantage while you're not Down Under, follow the VPN advice towards the top of this page.
New Zealand TV rights
How to watch a Premier League live stream for New Zealand subscribers
Spark Sport are serving up all 380 games – plus various highlights and magazine shows throughout the week, as well as the Champions League – for $24.99 a month, after a seven-day free trial.
It's also available via web browsers, Apple/Android devices, Google Chromecast and some Samsung TVs, and Apple TV and Smart TV compatibility new for this season.
Check out our VPN deals to watch when you’re not in New Zealand.
