Manchester City V Chelsea odds

 

Manchester City V Chelsea

Saturday, 25th September – 12:45 GMT
Venue: City of Manchester Stadium
TV Coverage: Sky Sports 2

 

Manchester City

League Position: 4th
League Form: WDLWD

Manchester City’s top four credentials will be tested on Saturday – the weekend’s early kick-off – when manager Roberto Mancini welcomes league leaders Chelsea to Eastlands in a game sure to catch the eye of every armchair fan. City are currently sat in fourth in the Premier League table but a slip up on Saturday would almost certainly lead to them sliding down the table, with the likes of Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur hot on their heels, ready and waiting to pounce on any mistakes made on Man City’s behalf.

Whereas their opponents, Chelsea, are unbeaten in the league this season, City don’t boast such a glamorous title after relinquishing their undefeated status to Sunderland a couple weeks ago, while their home record near the end of last season was extremely poor – Losing to Everton (0-2), Manchester United (0-1) and Tottenham Hotspur (0-1) inside the last five homes games of the season, this despite claiming the double over Chelsea with a 2-1 win at home and a stunning 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge during the same term.

Consistency is the cry from the stands, with supporters clearly of the belief that their new look side, one worth more than a few bob, is capable of achieving great things but doesn’t quite know how to string a number of pleasing results together. They’ve stated this season in a similar vein, with the new term just five games old but already City fans have unwillingly boarded a roller-coaster, with the highlight so far being their impressive 3-0 win over Liverpool at home but two low moments include their 1-0 defeat away at Sunderland and their dismal draw at home to Blackburn Rovers – Their most recent home outing. It also doesn’t help that City’s aim to get in amongst the silverware this season has already hit a brick wall, with West Brom eliminating Man City from the Carling Cu[ on Wednesday following Roberto Mancini’s decision to rest his key players.

City do at least come into this exciting fixture with a positive result in the league behind them, although their performance en route to a 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic in Greater Manchester last Sunday was far from impressive. And while you would normally expect City to build from there, that looks a pretty mean feat right now when you consider that next up is the fastest team out of the starting blocks in Chelsea, who already have a four point lead at the top of the table and have racked up seven more goals than anyone else, 15 more than Man City. To add insult to injury, Mancini is facing a selection headache ahead of Saturday’s clash, with his defence depleted further by news that Michah Richards is a doubt along with Jerome Boateng, Wayne Bridge and Alexander Kolarov, with the latter out for weeks to come.

 

Chelsea

League Position: 1st
League Form: WWWWW

Chelsea  have began the defence of their Premier League crown like a steam train, smashing through every opponent which dares challenge them, but most pundits and almost every single national newspaper believes Saturday will be early gauntlet for Carlo Ancelotti and his players, the first genuine test of their credentials to successfully defend their Premier League crown. To be honest, you’d be hard-pressed to disagree with those remarks seeing as City do boast a wealth of talent within their ranks, as well as adding Chelsea’s miserable league outings against City last season into the equation, but you get the feeling that City will need to raise their game to some extraordinary level if they’re to overhaul the league’s runaway leaders judging by current form.

So far it has been so straightforward and simple for Chelsea it’s terrifying, with Carlo Ancelotti having witnessed his team maul the likes West Brom (6-0), Wigan (0-6), Stoke City (2-0), West Ham (1-3) and Blackpool (4-0) to pieces, but a spanner was thrown in the works on Wednesday as Chelsea crashed out of the Carling Cup at just the third round stage of the competition to fellow Premier League side Newcastle United, with the Blues losing a pulsating affair which ended 4-3 in Newcastle’s favour. We know it may have been just the Carling Cup, a trophy few care much about these days, but there were several players involved that night who are expected to feature on Saturday, John Terry and Anelka among them, and you do wonder whether their cup demise could have a say on their input in Saturday’s encounter at Eastlands.

To add insult to injury, Carlo Ancelotti lost two of his squad players to injury on Wednesday, as well as seeing the cup sail off into the distance, with Yossi Benayoun and Salomon Kalou both picking up nasty looking injuries likely to keep the pair out of action for several weeks. On the positive side of things, Nicolas Anelka was in inspired form once again as he bagged himself a classy brace, and the suspended French international will probably line up alongside the Ivorian powerhouse Didier Drogba on Saturday, with the latter also in sensational form and arguably the player of the season up till now. Not too far behind him is the resurgent Florent Malouda, who has been a constant thorn in the side for opponents so far out on the left wing and his six goals in the league so far have seen him go level with Berbatov at the top of the scoring standings.

While the disappointment on Wednesday night will still linger around Stamford Bridge for a few days to come, there’s little doubt that the in form side right now in the Premier League is Chelsea, steam rolling anyone who dares stand in their way. With just five games gone Chelsea have already racked up seven more goals than any other side in the league, while they’ve scored 15 more than Man City, who have struggled to find the right blend up front. The exact opposite has been happening at Chelsea, with Anelka, Malouda and Drogba combing to deadly affect in the final third of the pitch to blow everyone away so far, so perhaps the only thing standing between Chelsea and another formidable display is whether they’ll be overawed by the settings, as they were on their previous visit to Man City, where they lost 2-1.

 

Head-to-Head (Premier League ONLY):

Manchester City Wins: 3 (2 at HOME)
Chelsea Wins: 19 (10 AWAY)
Draws: 4 (1 at Man City)

Last 5 Meetings in Manchester:

2009/2010: Manchester City 2-1 Chelsea
2008/2009: Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea
2007/2008: Manchester City 0-2 Chelsea
2006/2007: Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea
2005/2006: Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea

 

Basic Team Statistics:

Manchester City

Games Played: 5
Played at Home: 2
Home 1X2: 1-1-0
Goals: 6
Home Goals: 4
Conceded: 2
Conceded at Home: 1
Clean Sheets: 3
Home Clean Sheets: 1
Top Goalscorer: Carlos Tevez (3)
Top Home Goalscorer: Carlos Tevez (2)

Chelsea

Games Played: 5
Played Away: 2
Away 1X2: 2-0-0
Goals: 21
Away Goals: 9
Conceded: 1
Conceded Away: 1
Clean Sheets: 4
Away Clean Sheets: 1
Top Goalscorer: Florent Malouda (6)
Top Away Goalscorer: -

 

Match Prediction: Chelsea to WIN – 2.20 Ladbrokes

Chelsea are my favourite team at present, mainly because when I go to write out the form I needn’t do any research, just a simple WWWWW… and that is what we expect them to do on Saturday – WIN!

There is no getting away from Man City’s double over Chelsea last season, every newspaper, every football presenter and every single commentator will make you, the excited spectator, well aware of this rare occurrence. We are slightly concerned by the fact City’s first win over Chelsea last term came at a time when Chelsea were in similarly high spirits as they are now, with the Blues arriving in Manchester at that specific time off the back of a five-match winning streak, only to be met by a fired up Manchester City side ready to turn them over. That defeat sparked a mini crisis for the Blues, with Chelsea going on to win just one of their next four league games, and while the likes of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger will be praying for another knock-out blow from Man City, our minds go completely blank as to whom will actually land the blow.

Carlos Tevez has his moments, typically in the big games funnily enough, but even he’s been wayward in the early part of the season and cannot exactly be relied upon. Adam Johnson will be City’s biggest threat when going forward, someone who won’t be afraid to run at Ashley Cole before attempting to whip in a luscious ball, but the England prodigy has his work cut out against the best full-back in the country. Both Jo and Santa Cruz have been hit and miss so far in their City careers, while Adebayor is nursing a hamstring injury and doesn’t look likely to feature anyway after news about a reported bust up with Roberto Mancini.

It’s a different story altogether in the Chelsea camp, with Drogba, Anelka and Malouda all playing to the best of their ability right now and unlike the City forward line, which could be absolutely anything on the day; both with their performance and the personnel, Chelsea’s forwards know exactly where their striking partners are going to be and where they’ll make their runs. It is like poetry in motion sometimes. Just too much going for Chelsea right now for us to oppose them unfortunately, although this title race, despite it still being early days, is in need of a Chelsea shocker.

Soccer-Betting Value Bet: Didier Drogba First Goalscorer – 6.00 PaddyPower

 

Match Odds:

Manchester City – 3.70 bWin
Draw – 3.40 VCBet
Chelsea – 2.20 Ladbrokes

 

Manchester City V Chelsea

 

Kick-off: Saturday 5^th December – 17:30 GMT

Venue: The City of Manchester Stadium

TV Coverage: ESPN

 

Two of the most consistent sides, for completely different reasons we must add, do battle in Manchester, in ESPN’s live encounter, as Chelsea, the leaders of the Premiership, take on the wannabe’s, Manchester City, at the City of Manchester stadium. In one corner we have Mark Hughes and Man City, a team which have drawn their last seven in the league – while in the other corner we have Carlo Ancelotti and Chelsea, a team which arrive in Manchester with five suscessive wins under their belts, two of which were over Arsenal & Manchester United. So who will win the battle of the riches?

 

 

 

Manchester City

 

League Position: 7th

Recent Form: DDDDD

 

With the vast amounts of cash Mark Hughes has spent over the summer, there has been news this week that the club have shelled out no less than £13 Million on agent wages alone. That’s a staggering tally and one that will alarm working folk all around the country. However, from a Man City fans perspective, all they will be worried about is whether all that cash was really worth it. So far, they’ll probably be caught in two minds after a bright start to the season has recently gone aria. The richest club in the land, taking over the mantle formerly held by Chelsea, did win their opening four fixtures, but their recent run of seven consecutive draws means City’s season has gone significantly off the boil since.

  

Many sides go through a lean spell, one where wins are hard to come by, but City are at least picking up points, albeit not the right amount in some cases. Their run of seven successive draws has consisted of some tough fixtures, Liverpool & Aston Villa two of the notable ones, but some were very winnable games, while others were games City should have been bankers in. Home games with Fulham (2-2), Burnley (3-3) and, more recently, Hull City (1-1), were all fixtures City should have taken all three points out of on paper. However, they failed to do so in any and what’s more alarming is that City actually had the lead in all three at some stage but failed to hold out in either.

  

If Man City are to challenge the leading pack then they must make their new stadium a fortress, especially when the bigger teams do come a calling. They’ve done that so far, with their only home encounter against one of the ‘Big Four’ being a 4-2 victory over Arsenal back in September. They were sensational that day but Arsenal, as Chelsea proved at the weekend, are still a long way off the level of Chelsea. City really will need to cut out the mistakes and concentration errors if they want to take a point from this fixture, let alone all three.

  

At The City of Manchester, City are unbeaten in the league this season, with a record of 3-3-0. However, those three draws have all come in succession and you’ll have to stretch back four home games for City’s last victory in Manchester, a 3-1 victory over relegation stricken West Ham. A big concern is City’s poor defensive record at home this season, with just Wolves failing to score in Manchester against City this season, a team who have struggled for goals all season. City’s last five home encounters has seen them fail to keep a clean sheet, with even the likes of Hull (1 goal) and Burnley (3 goals!) getting past a usually impenetrable Shay Given goal.

 

Scoring, however, hasn’t been a problem, with City managing a more than reasonable tally of 24 goals for the season thus far. 14 of those have come at home and Mark Hughes’ has spent big bucks on his forward line over the summer so the fact that City have scored in every home game this season does go some way to justifying the amount spent… sort of.

 

 

 

Chelsea

 

League Position: 1st

Recent Form: WWWWW

 

Chelsea are unstoppable at the moment and have brushed aside all those who have opposed them of late. Five wins of the spin has seen them not only regain their position at the very top of the league but also enforce a five point gap on the chasing pack. They’ve been playing the best football of late oyt of any side in the league, scoring goals for fun at times, whilst their defence has been in scintillating form. At this moment in time, Chelsea are a well oiled machine, but machines do run out of legs eventually, and after a long, gruelling Carling Cup game in midweek, will Chelsea have the legs to maintain their winning run at The City of Manchester stadium?

  

The blues’ have won five on the bounce, scoring 17 goals in the process. However, what’s more impressive is that Chelsea’s five match winning run has been built upon a strong defensive basis, with Chelsea failing to concede a single goal in this winning run, five consecutive clean sheets. Even Arsenal (0-3) and Manchester United (1-0), couldn’t breakthrough this solid and impenetrable Chelsea defence, but they should be tested to the full once again on Saturday against a City side who haven’t failed to score at home in six home outings this season. 

 

Chelsea’s away record stands at 5-2, which is mighty impressive, but their only two defeats of the season have both come on the road. Defeats at Aston Villa (2-1) and Wigan (3-1) are Carlo Ancelotti’s only league low points this season, but Chelsea have bounced back and in some fashion by winning their previous two away encounters; beating Bolton Wanderers 4-0, and Arsenal 3-0, the latter arguably Chelsea’s greatest result of the season thus far. The win over Arsenal is their most recent and Chelsea were sublime in that outing. They had to be patient as Arsenal spent most of the time on the ball, but Chelsea waited for the chances to arrive and when they did they took them with aplomb.

  

Didier Drogba scored a brace at The Emirates, taking his tally for the season, league wise, to 11 goals, level with Jermaine Defoe at the top. The Ivorian has been the player of the season by a country mile and he had led from the front, spearheading this Chelsea express. He has seven more league goals then anyone else in the Chelsea team and a fit and hungry Drogba is bad news for the City fans but a delight for the travelling Chelsea supporters.

  

Our only flaw with Chelsea this weekend is their midweek cup exit. Yes, the Carling Cup won’t be too high on their list of priorities this season, probably right at the very bottom, but Carlo Ancelotti will be eager to at least end the season with a trophy and the players will have been fully aware of this. The defeat on penalties(against Blackburn Rovers) made the situation a lot harder to take in and it will be interesting to see how the first teamer’s respond on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

Head-to-Head (Last 10):

 

Manchester City W: 1 Chelsea W: 8 Draws: 1

 

I don’t think I’ve seen such a domineering head-to-head record for some time, with Chelsea the team doing all the dominating. Not only have Chelsea won 8 of the last 10 meetings between the two but they’ve also won the last 8 clashes on the trot, a run stretching four seasons back, a four years winning streak over the new rich boys on the block.

 

Chelsea beat Man City 1-3 at The City of Manchester stadium last season but they’ve beaten City on their last four visits to Manchester, three of which have been to nil. City’s last home victory over the Blue’s came back in 2004 when they won 1-0 at Maine Road, the old Man City stadium.

 

 

 

 

Match Verdict:- Draw – 3.50 Boylesports

 

This was a hard decision to come to as Chelsea have been sensational of late. However, City, at home anyway, are a tough side to overcome, especially this season, not losing at The City of Manchester in six games, nine if you stretch back into last season. City’s defence is a concern, whereas Chelsea’s looks very solid, so perhaps goals could actually be few and far between in this encounter, despite all the attacking talent on display. The big encounters against the top four are where Mark Hughes and City will be judged on just how far they’ve come and, possibly, how much work still needs to be done. This is more a test for City than Chelsea but a draw would be a step in the right direction and that’s the outcome we favour the most.

 

 

 

Match Odds:

 

Manchester City – 4.50 Bet365

Draw – 3.50 Boylesports

Chelsea – 1.91 PaddyPower

 

 

 

SoccerBetting Value Tip: 1-1 Correct Score – 7.00 Bet365