Match Betting (1x2)
Manchester City have won the Premier League title in the past two seasons although Pep Guardiola’s side have the proverbial mountain to climb if they’re to make it a hat-trick after the team lost 3-1 at Liverpool.
The fall-out from that defeat is still taking place, with conversations surrounding VAR and the England canteen clash between Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez which actually saw the former dropped for his country’s 1000th game against Montenegro.
The Citizens must then regroup after the international break and look to embark on a winning run and the curious thing for the home side in this clash is the fact that they sit in fourth place which was their customary position during Guardiola’s first campaign in England.
Dropping eleven points after twelve games played certainly wasn’t in the script and the bookmakers have them as very strong favourites to beat Chelsea, with BetVictor going 2/5 that Manchester City are back on track with three points.
The home win is clearly the most likely outcome and the team have scored nineteen goals in their six Premier League home matches although that’s slightly distorted by the 8-0 win over Watford.
In addition, Wolves have left the Etihad Stadium with a 2-0 win, Tottenham with a 2-2 draw and Chelsea arrive in the north-west with very strong form which means they currently sit a point ahead of their opponents.
The Blues have recovered from a 4-0 drubbing at Old Trafford to land 23 points from 11 games played and they have won their last five top flight games on the road, with Frank Lampard likely to be targeting a victory in this clash.
It’s not really his team’s style to keep things tight and play for a draw and it’s been a string of W’s since losing at home to Liverpool, with William Hill chalking up 7/1 that the visitors compound the misery in the home team’s ranks by winning this one.
It has to be said that the City defence looks far from watertight now that Aymeric Laporte is absent from proceedings, with Guardiola opting for Fernandinho joining John Stones in central defence and perhaps the visitors will have some joy.
Lampard has an interesting selection dilemma considering that N’Golo Kante is back in the fold, although Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic are also in strong form and perhaps the trio will play in this game as the visitors look to scale down on the attacking midfielders that they deploy.
The draw is a 4/1 poke and this would certainly please Chelsea as they bid to retain their lofty position in the top four of the Premier League. Who would have expected them to have a nine point cushion at this moment in time?
Asian Handicap
For those that reckon Chelsea have a strong chance of getting something from this game, then the Asian Handicap market offers punters the chance of backing the visitors without them needing to win this clash.
The visitors will look to meet fire with fire at the Etihad Stadium and you can get 7/9 about Lampard’s team with a +1.5 goal start which means they could afford to lose by a single goal and this bet would still cop.
For those looking for a little more insurance, Unibet have 2/5 about Chelsea with a +2 handicap and that means money back if Manchester City win by two goals, although those expecting the visitors to avoid defeat, there are odds of 21/10 about the London side with half a goal start.
Alternatively, it’s possible that Manchester City will unleash hell on their opponents and they will clearly be full of attacking intent in a bid to try and catch Liverpool up.
The home side are an 11/10 chance with BetVictor to overcome a -1.5 Asian Handicap and we’ve regularly seen them achieve this, while Ajax storming into a 4-1 lead at Stamford Bridge recently suggests there are weaknesses within the Chelsea defence.
First Goalscorer
As always when Manchester City face Chelsea, there are lots of exciting 1G options and Sergio Aguero will look to take out his frustrations from Anfield in this game.
The Argentine is 4/1 to score the opener although perhaps it will be Raheem Sterling who will put an interesting fortnight behind him by breaking the deadlock and he’s a 5/1 poke to break the deadlock.
Tammy Abraham is the second highest scorer in the division and punters are able to back him at 8/1 to score the opener, with Christian Pulisic catching the eye at 10/1.