The English Premier League continues this weekend, so take a look at our tips and predictions for the Chelsea vs. Manchester City match. With plenty of picks and markets to choose from, don’t waste your time and join the action at Get More Sports.
Chelsea vs. Manchester City
Three-Way: 1: Chelsea +179; X: Draw +260; 2: Manchester City +186
Spread 0: Chelsea -109; Manchester City +108
Total +2.5: Over -120; Under +120
CHELSEA
Chelsea is welcoming the Citizens in the derby match of the Premier League Round 7 after a vital 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday. Michy Batshuayi silenced Estadio Wanda Metropolitano with a late goal that sank the hosts just before the referee’s final whistle, and now, Chelsea is cruising at the top of the Group C in the UCL, with six points out of the first two games. Antonio Conte was delighted after that victory in Madrid as he won the tactical duel against Diego Simeone and is hoping to do the same against Pep Guardiola when City comes to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Italian tactician is particularly happy with Alvaro Morata who scored four goals in the last two matches, and the former Real Madrid striker proved to be worthy of every penny the Blues paid for him this summer. Chelsea are on a three-game winning streak at the moment, and they are looking to prolong that run against bitter rivals and title contenders, but it’s not going to be easy as Man City are also playing in a phenomenal form.
Chelsea has played ten games so far in the 2017/18 season, recording seven victories, a draw, and two defeats, both in the opening two games of the season. They scored 26 and allowed nine goals, which is 3.5 goals per contest on average, meaning that Chelsea games are usually exciting and with plenty of goals. That is the case in the duels with Man City as the previous five meetings finished with three or more goals, so considering the efficiency of both teams, we can expect to see a bunch of goals at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. When it comes to home matches this season, the Blues have played five, but won only three of them, thanks to the 2-3 defeat to Burnley in the opening game of the EPL campaign. Arsenal also managed to hold them to a 0-0 stalemate two weeks ago, but nonetheless, Chelsea scored 15 goals in those five games, which is three per contest at Stamford Bridge.
They do have a solid recent record against Manchester City at home; Chelsea won three and suffered a loss, along with a draw in the previous five clashes, with a goal difference of 10:7. With 17 goals in these five duels in total, we can surely anticipate seeing minimum three here, and the goals on both ends shouldn’t be missed. The Blues are without a defeat in eight matches now, and the confidence seems to grow from day to day, so if they win this game, they will have the same amount of points as City.
The incredible Alvaro Morata already scored seven goals in eight appearances and proved that he settled in England just perfectly since the first time he entered the game against Burnley. The Spaniard has been excellent lately for both Chelsea and Spain and even recorded his first-ever hat-trick for the Blues in a dominant 4-0 victory at Stoke. Morata will represent the biggest threat to Ederson’s goal on Saturday and Otamendi and Stones will have to do a lot to contain him from scoring. Michy Batshuayi is following Alvaro on a goal-scoring chart with five goals to his name, while Cesar Azpilicueta and Eden Hazard are leading the team in assists; they recorded four and three, respectively. It is hard to expect to see both Morata and Batshuayi on the pitch from the first minute, but the Belgian could turn out to be a super-sub if the situation asks for his introduction in the second half. Antonio Conte cannot count on suspended David Luiz, so Antonio Rudiger will likely take his place in the starting eleven, while Danny Drinkwater is still sidelined with a calf strain, and should be back within two weeks.
MANCHESTER CITY
The Citizens are even ion a better form than Chelsea as they won the previous seven matches, and are at the top of the Premier League table with 16 points out of six games, the same as the city rivals Manchester United. They are also in the 1st position in the Group F of the Champions League following a 2-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night. Although they were struggling to score an opening goal in the first half, Man City broke the deadlock in the 48th minute, thanks to Kevin De Bruyne, who scored his first goal of the season. Sergio Aguero didn’t have the best of games as he missed the penalty in the 72nd minute and was later substituted, but the substitute Raheem Sterling settle the final score in the 90th minute. The former Liverpool winger has been in a great form this season and is one of the best players in the squad at the moment.
Manchester City played nine matches so far in the 2017/18 campaign, winning eight of them with only one draw; it was a 1-1 duel against Everton at Etihad. Since then, the Citizens destroyed everyone on their path, recording seven consecutive wins and scoring bunch of goals in the process. They scored 29 and conceded just four goals, which means over 3.6 goals per contest on average, and given that Chelsea games are also highly efficient, we could witness a classic shootout at Stamford Bridge. When it comes to away games, City won all five, scoring 16 and allowing only two, so that suggests that they are playing slightly better away from Etihad, which could be quite encouraging for their traveling fans who will be in London to support them on Saturday. Last season, the corresponding fixture ended 2-1 for Chelsea, as we saw all three goals in the first half, with Eden Hazard (2) and Sergio Aguero were the scorers.
Aguero is the team’s top scorer at the moment with seven goals to his name, while Raheem Sterling is right behind him on the score-chart with six goals. Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus scored five goals each. Unlike Chelsea, where Morata and Batshuayi are the most-dangerous players, City has several individuals who can really hurt the opponents, so Antonio Conte must prepare good defensive tactics to keep the City wingers from scoring on Saturday. However, he will find it hard to stop David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne who has 12 assists combined already, so N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko will have a big task ahead of them to control City’s midfield duo. Sergio Aguero was involved in a car accident in Amsterdam this week and reportedly suffered ribs fracture, so he will probably miss around six weeks, which is a significant blow for Guardiola and the Citizens. However, Gabriel Jesus has the ability to step up and produce, while I also expect both Sane and Sterling to provide support from the wings. Benjamin Mendy is likely out for the season with a cruciate ligament rupture, while the captain Vincent Kompany is out with a calf injury.
Chelsea vs. Manchester City – Match Prediction
Even though Aguero will not be able to participate in this duel, the Citizens have plenty other players who can step in and display great performance. Chelsea is playing very well, and they are scoring goals on a regular basis, so I anticipate a high-scoring tilt here.
MY PICK: Over 2.5 goals
