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Chelsea FC and Manchester City have met close to 200 times, but never in a venue this size. Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes college football team, can host 102,780 people. Tickets still remain for this preseason friendly, but if they can sell it out, it would be historical.
Getting close to 103,000 fans would make this clash the third most attended soccer match on American soil.
Manchester City vs Chelsea FC FYIs
Kick off: 5:30 pm ET, Sat. Aug 3, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Competition: club friendly, branded the “FC Series”
Team News: Chelsea Man City
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Man City
TV: ESPN
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Numbers one (2014, Real Madrid vs Manchester United, 109,318) and two (2016, Chelsea vs Real Madrid, 105,862) occurred at the home of the Buckeyes’ bitter arch-rival, the Michigan Wolverines (Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI). Only five have ever topped 100,000.
No matter how tickets remain unsold, there will be a massive crowd on hand nonetheless.
So manager Pep Guardiola will try and put out the best team that he currently has available, in order to give them a show.
Nico O’Reilly and Oscar Bobb have certainly been impressive thus far.
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction vs Chelsea (FC Series)
Stefan Ortega; Rico Lewis, Callum Doyle, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Josh Wilson-Esbrand; Maximo Perrone, Nico O’Reilly; James McAtree, Oscar Bobb, Jack Grealish; Erling Haaland
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.