Premier League: Manchester City and Chelsea in a Top Four Tussle

Manchester City vs Chelsea

Domestic football returns to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening when Premier League: Manchester City vs Chelsea is the box office draw on offer.

Some of the very best players will be on show as two of the richest teams on the planet come face to face, but they are not contesting a title as their fans would wish. They are in a real battle for a top four place; with Liverpool six points clear at the top of the table and with a game in hand, and Arsenal tipped widely to be the closest challengers, there are probably around six teams chasing the other two Champions League slots.

Surprise package Nottingham Forest are in third place and then it’s Chelsea and Manchester City in pursuit, and Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues can leapfrog Enzo Maresca’s Blues with a win. Newcastle United are level with City on points and, in seventh and eighth places, Bournemouth and Aston Villa are within a win of the Citizens.          

Last time out Manchester City hammered Ipswich 6-0 while Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea picked up a long awaited league win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Sky Blues were in Champions League action on Wednesday with a crunch clash against Paris Saint-Germain but it all went wrong again as Guardiola watched his team surrender a two goal lead to lose 4-2 at the Parc des Princes.  

The Manchester City vs Chelsea betting odds reckon Guardiola’s men can get back to winning ways…but which City will turn up to face the Londoners?  

Talking Points

Two steps forward and one back  

The Sky Blues’ visit to Ipswich last week looked like they were back to their old best as they brutally dismantled the Tractor Boys with two goals from England midfielder Phil Foden, who has hit a rich vein of form since the turn of the year. Erling Haaland on the back of signing a new nine and a half year contract has now racked up 17 goals in the Premier League and is hot on the heels of Mo Salah in the chase for the Golden Boot. Big wins over West Ham United, Salford City in the FA Cup and then Ipswich suggested the Citizens were back on track, but then a capitulation in Paris left them in the elimination zone of the Champions League, with just one game to play, and anything less than a victory over Club Brugges next week will see the Sky Blues crash out.

So the recently returned smiles at the Etihad Stadium are being tested again and it was the manner in which City lost to PSG which is the most worrying. Second half goals from Jack Grealish and Haaland put Guardiola’s team firmly in charge but then they collapsed defensively and Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Joao Neves and Goncalo Ramos all breached the City defence. 

This was the ninth time in all competitions that Manchester City have failed to win after leading, and they have lost 22 points from winning positions in the Premier League and Champions League. 

That is a really bad habit to break and, until they do, the Sky Blues won’t get the results they desperately need.

And one big step forward for Chelsea

Following a run of five Premier League games without a victory, the Blues eventually broke that sequence last week with a 3-1 win over Wolves, with goals from Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke. The game was an oddity in that the excellent Cole Palmer, who has scored 14 goals and made six assists so far, didn’t trouble the scorers; but he loves a big game and it will be difficult for City to keep their former Academy star quiet.

Chelsea have spent a lot of money over the past two years but a strong start to his reign at Stamford Bridge has given Maresca some credit and the club is looking to strengthen in the window, with Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho and Wolves’ Matheus Cunha in the Blues’ sights.   

History

With 29 wins each in all competitions these two teams have shared the head to head Manchester City vs Chelsea results in the Premier League era, though the Sky Blues have won the last three and Chelsea have not won on their last six visits to the Etihad Stadium.

When the two teams met on the opening day of the campaign City ran out 2-0 winners; but the game which sticks most in the memory was a 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge back in November 2023 as Palmer struck an injury time penalty to deny his former club.   

Betting Tips

The pre-match SBOTOP prices make Manchester City the odds on favourites at 1.84 to win and, had they not gone back to their sloppy ways against PSG I would have been tempted by that. But if City are not back to their best then Chelsea can certainly expose a weakness and Blues fans can back their team to draw at 3.60 or plunder all three points at 3.24.

One thing I think we can guarantee is goals and, with an array of attacking talent on show, there could be another avalanche.   

 

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