Chelsea vs Manchester City
Manchester City will be walking down the Kings Road on Sunday to take on Chelsea in a match which could easily be pivotal for either team.
As things stand, both are challengers for the 2021 Premier League title but they are both off the pace.
They do seem to be going in different directions though as Chelsea are struggling to keep up the excellent start they made, while the Sky Blues are rather ominously, coming into view at the business end of the table.
This clash typically oozes with style but there will be steely determination as neither side wants to lose touch with the top.
Talking Points
Lampard yet to find Chelsea’s best 11
Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard splashed an eye-watering £225-M in the summer transfer window, bringing in some stellar names from the Bundesliga in particular.
Timo Werner and Kai Havertz are taking time to settle in the fast-paced Premier League while winger Hakim Ziyech, who has looks dangerous whenever he plays, has been dogged by injury.
A 1-1 draw with Aston Villa last time out continued the Blues’ difficult run of just four points from the last five games, which has seen them drop to sixth place.
However, the league is wide open and they are still only seven points behind leaders Liverpool. City are on the same points as Chelsea but with two games in hand.
It’s very tight at the top and Lampard may dip into the market again, but he’ll need to offload some players to balance the books.
La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid might make a move for Marcos Alonso, while the world’s most expensive goalkeeper in Kepa, must surely be on his way out.
Lampard needs to get it right and hope that his new recruits can step up alongside last season’s marquee signing Christian Pulisic.
If the US captain can click with Werner all will be well, but it hasn’t quite happened yet.
Manchester City’s COVID chaos
The Sky Blues are rarely out of the Premier League 2021 news and over the past few days they have been embroiled in controversy.
Pep Guardiola was due to take his team to Goodison Park to face Everton on Monday, but much to the Toffees annoyance, they pulled out after Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus tested positive for COVID-19.
Now the club has announced that they have five players unavailable to face Chelsea and that might put the game in doubt.
Walker hasn’t had a particularly good pandemic. Back in April during the height of the first wave in the UK, he landed himself in a whole heap of trouble for breaching the rules by hosting a ‘lively’ party.
Two of Chelsea’s staff have tested positive but Lampard expects the game to go ahead.
Sky Blues are no longer top dogs in Manchester for now
It won’t worry Pep Guardiola one bit, but the fact that Manchester United seem to be getting their act together will not have gone unnoticed among Sky Blue fans.
The Red Devils have a New Years Day appointment with Aston Villa and could draw level with Liverpool at the top of the league with a win.
The Red Devils are at 1.72 to win that one so City fans might well be watching through their fingers!
But the key point to remember is that the Premier League 2020 betting odds here still rate Guardiola’s team as second favourites at 2.60, not far behind Liverpool at 2.40.
We expect a Sky Blue wave to gather momentum at some stage.
History
Chelsea have had the better of the head-to-head, but not by much. They have won 26 of the last 52 meetings with Manchester City, while drawing seven and losing 19.
Last season, the hosts won 2-1 in both games. City triumphed in November and then the Blues took all three points as the Premier League emerged from lockdown in June. Christian Pulisic opened the scoring to put Chelsea on course for a win which handed the league title to Liverpool.
Lampard’s men are unbeaten in 11 matches at home, while Manchester City are five unbeaten away from home.
Recent form is in City’s favour as they arrive with back-to-back victories in the league, while Chelsea have won just one in the last five.
Betting Tip
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Chelsea vs Manchester City | 1X2 Draw @ 3.45 |
| January 4, 00:30 (GMT+8) |
While it’s a close-run thing, the latest SBOTOP odds back the Sky Blues to win this clash at odds of 2.32 with Chelsea at 2.69.
For an alternative bet, over 2.75 goals at 2.02 is an interesting idea. The last six games featured these two teams have yielded 17 goals, both with high-scoring matches against Arsenal.
But I’m going for a draw. Chelsea are sound at home and City have players missing so I think Lampard’s team will have enough to earn a point.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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