Manchester City and Chelsea meet at the Etihad Stadium this Saturday evening to lock horns in a high-quality Premier League clash that holds massive importance for the Blues aim to cement their top-four position on the league table to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Meanwhile, the Citizens look to march on gloriously to their third league title in four seasons under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola with victory guaranteeing that the prestigious trophy will be adorned with Sky-Blue ribbons, leaving second-placed Manchester United on the verge of being mathematically ruled out of the running.
However, Chelsea have infamously made a habit of having the final say in the title-race in recent campaigns. When the Blues aren’t celebrating winning the coveted prize for themselves, they initiate celebrations of the eventual winners by damaging a title-chasing teams’ chances, most notably the party at Jamie Vardy home in Leicester’s win as well as Liverpool’s celebrations last season.
We are certainly in for a cracking match of football between two sides that come off Champions League semi-finals in midweek action.
English Premier League
Saturday 8 May
Etihad Stadium
18:30
To Win
Manchester City 8/10
Draw 5/2
Chelsea 7/2
Manchester City
It would be very foolish to take a team like Chelsea for granted and surely there would’ve been lessons learned from City’s failure in the FA Cup semi-final, however, the Citizens will want to get this one over with as soon as possible.
Interestingly, these teams could meet once more in the Champions League final, if both of them successfully get pass Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. Guardiola will want to take three points from this matchup so his team can put their full focus on winning the Champions League.
City have been in sensational form on their travels winning 19 of their last 20 games, only suffering defeat to Chelsea at Wembley. Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus were both named in the starting XI last weekend against Crystal Palace which came as a surprise to many, seeing as Guardiola has adopted a system of playing with a false-nine in recent weeks.
The only goalkeeper to have kept more clean sheets than Chelsea’s Mendy (16), is Man City’s Ederson (18), is fully expected to reclaim his place in the team after missing out to Zack Steffen in the FA Cup defeat.
Ederson sets the team into solid starting positions with his excellent range of passing, thinking two or three moves ahead before releasing the ball to his teammates, which is very important to the way Guardiola’s teams play.
The Brazilian has world class defenders protecting him namely Ruben Dias, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte that have essentially built an axis for the rest of the team to play from. Two centre backs start, having the luxury of another resting on the bench with Ederson in goal and Rodri playing in the deeper-lying midfield role.
Chelsea
Firstly, I’m not a Blue, but correctly predicted Thomas Tuchel to earn his first ever win over Guardiola, in the sixth attempt of his managerial career, as Chelsea To Qualify came home flying at 2/1 odds, just three short weeks ago in issue #553 of Soccer Betting News.
Secondly the victory was fully deserved with in-form Christian Pulisic coming close on a few occasions but Timo Werner directly attacking City’s defence at top speed, was too much to contain. Hakim Ziyech renowned for his wand of a left foot had a simple left-footed tap-in that he duly converted to decide the contest.
Overall, the Blues impressed immensely in the previous encounter. The squad now fully understands the methods and tactics brought about from the arrival of their German mentor, coupled with the belief that Tuchel has instilled in his players that has galvanized the Londoners to become a dangerous force.
Not that anyone has to remind N’golo Kante that he’s undoubtedly the best player in the world for the qualities he brings to the team. The world cup winning midfielder put on a brilliant performance in Real Madrid’s back yard that surely set the record straight to all of his doubters.
There are four crucial Premier League games that Chelsea have left, following this match the Blues host both Arsenal and Leicester before travelling to Villa Park on the final day.
Along with Kante, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has to maintain his top form to claim maximum points. The Senegalese shot stopper is enjoying one of the best starts to a career in English football, successfully keeping 16 clean sheets from 30 league starts.
Probable line-ups:
Chelsea: 3-4-2-1
Mendy; Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Rudiger; James, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell; Mount, Pulisic; Havertz.
Manchester City: 4-3-3
Ederson; Walker, Ruben Dias, Stones, Cancelo; Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, Foden.
Prediction: (21/20) Home No Bet – Chelsea Win
These teams have proven that they’re among the cream of the crop against the best opposition and it will be very difficult to separate them. I’ve found an option that could potentially make us some extra cash at decent value. I suggest going into the Home No Bet market and selecting Chelsea win, if the games end in a stalemate you would’ve lost your stake, while a Home Win would mean getting your initial stake returned to you.
Written by Bryan Naicker