Manchester City welcome Chelsea to the Etihad stadium in Saturday’s late afternoon Premier League kick off.
The Citizens have been on the title charge of late and sit just two points behind league leaders Liverpool with a game in hand ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.
Chelsea, meanwhile, got a much needed win against struggling Crystal Palace last time out. The West Londoners are still languishing in mid-table however and this is a much more difficult test for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
Here, we’ll preview this much anticipated Premier League match up in the hopes we can find you some winning bets.
Unbeaten
It’s a tall order facing Chelsea, who travel to East Manchester looking to be the first team this season to take three points away from the Etihad. The hosts have only failed to take maximum points from a game on home soil on three occasions this campaign, and they were missing some key players in most of those instances.
Chelsea’s away form, on the other hand, can only be described as inconsistent. The recent win away to Palace has likely only papered over the cracks, with only one other victory on the road in their previous six in the league coming against relegation battling Luton Town just before the New Year.
Expect goals
It’s set to be another record breaking season for goals in the Premier League and, unsurprisingly, Manchester City have the most heading into the weekend. They’ve found the net in each of their last 14 games in all competitions and have 56 in their 23 league games, so scoring shouldn’t be an issue for the hosts.
Chelsea have also conceded 10 goals in their last four games in all competitions. That leaky defence is going to be massively tested against a City side that has goal machine Erling Haaland back and fully fit along with assist king Kevin de Bruyne. It’s likely they’ll both start for the hosts in this key fixture.
Only a win will do
Pep Guardiola will be fully expecting Liverpool to get three points against Brentford in the early Saturday kick off. That will make it all the more important that City get the win themselves here to at the very least keep the pressure on the Reds at the top of the Premier League table, with Arsenal also hot in pursuit.
Chelsea could really do with the points themselves. A win, and other results going their way, could see them jump back up the table and with an outside chance of qualifying for some form of European competition next season. That will undoubtedly be the minimum aim of Pochettino and his men for this campaign.
The last time these two met, it ended in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge. City are in a much better place now though, and are fully expected to go on and get the win here.
Suggested bets
- Manchester City to Win & BTTS
- Erling Haaland to Score 2+ goals
- 4-1 Correct Score
