Manchester City has to bounce back after a loss against Liverpool, in order to preserve its chances for winning the Premier League title. However, that task will be very tough, as they host fired-up Chelsea, whose been playing superbly over the recent few weeks. The Blues’ youngsters who stepped up this season have been fantastic, and Lampard’s team will be a massive challenge for Guardiola and his crew.
Preview
The Citizens suffered an unpleasant defeat at Anfield against Liverpool, and that no doubt, pulled them back in the title race. City was blown into pieces in less than 10 minutes, but we need to add that the game would no doubt be different if it weren’t for the officials’ mistakes. In the majority of them, the guests were damaged. Nevertheless, these guys are professionals, and we should expect a reaction from them. Man City is the highest scoring crew in league with a little bit less than three goals per match. They won the previous four games at home in all competitions with a total goal difference of 13-3. In all of them, hosts netted twice or more, and all saw at least three goals. What is interesting is that City’s back line couldn’t keep its net intact in the latest four contests, which is highly unusual for this unit.
On the other side, we have Chelsea, who has 6 consecutive wins in the Premiership and is coming into this one flying. Frank Lampard created the team with fantastic chemistry in which everybody knows its assignments. The Blues are playing attractive and offensive football, with lots of goals, They netted at least once in 12 previous matches. Also, Chelsea has seven straight victories on the road, and just one of them hasn’t concluded with three or more goals. That is Lampard’s signature, playing to score as many goals as possible, regardless of the result. Tammy Abraham is playing like a veteran, and he has a huge help from behind – Willian, Pulisic, Mount, etc.
Head to Head Matches
When looking at the entire history, Chelsea has more success. The Blues posted 67 wins, City has 57, and 39 games ended with a draw. However, the last time these two played at Etihad, during the previous season, City annihilated the team from London. Guardiola’s machinery shredded them into pieces with a 6-0 win. Overall, in the last six games, the Citizens have five wins, while Chelsea has just one. When looking at the results at Etihad, City won three times over four latest.
Prediction
Yes, the hosts are massive favorites, but be aware that the Blues are riding on one hell of a hot streak recently. Due to that, we would avoid betting on the final outcome and concentrate on goals. We expect a lot of them, and the reasons are obvious. Both sides have enormous offensive potential, and their respective defenses are much worse than offensive lines. Therefore, our first choice would be over 2.5 goals. Even though BetXChange’s odds are just 0.40, for us, this is an excellent bargain, as there is virtually no risk in this pick. The second one is our standard bet, over 1.5 HT. We love suggesting a high-scoring first half when there are two attacking-minded sides, and we often have the winning pick there. In this case, the odds are 0.96, which is superb. Do know that this game is more suitable for goals than for betting on the final outcome. So, be smart and avoid additional risks.
