McFarlane to take on Guardiola - but who is he?

Chelsea Under-21s head coach Calum McFarlane will take charge of Sunday's Premier League match with Manchester City, as the club work on appointing Enzo Maresca's successor.

McFarlane - once on the coaching staff at Manchester City's academy - is also set to take Friday's press conference before a return to his former club.

Maresca and his coaching staff left the club on New Year's Day with Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior is the leading contender for the job.

McFarlane has never taken charge of a senior professional football match.

He is in his first season as Chelsea academy coach, after joining from Southampton in the summer, and has so far led the under-21 team to fourth in Premier League 2 after nine matches.

McFarlane joined Chelsea after two years in charge of Southampton Under-21s and, like influential recruiter Joe Shields, previously worked in Manchester City's academy.

He crossed paths with Chelsea's academy technical director Glenn van de Kraan - who was appointed from City in 2024 - during his four years at the Etihad.

McFarlane has made an impressive start at Chelsea, earning praise from youth players and guiding his side to first place in the league phase of the Uefa Youth League with wins over Barcelona, Benfica, Bayern Munich and Ajax. His team - the youngest in the Premier League 2 Under-21 division - are fourth in the table.

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There could not be much more of a stark contrast when it comes to senior team experience between the two managers.

While Saturday's fixture will be Guardiola's 561st in charge at Manchester City, McFarlane will be stepping into his debut managing a senior club - albeit on an interim basis.

Guardiola managed his 1000th overall game in November 2025, following several successful seasons at Barcelona and Bayern Munich before Manchester City, compared to McFarlane's 75 games in charge from U18 to U21 level to date.

Saturday's game against Chelsea will be Guardiola's 1,012th as a manager, having won 724 of his fixtures up to this point - an intimidating win rate of 71.6%, with an average points per match rate of 2.36. Ahead of his senior debut, McFarlane's 33 wins out of 75 puts his win rate at 44%, sitting at an average of 1.8 points per match.