Saturday afternoon brings a heavyweight clash between two of the Premier League’s most well-known clubs as Manchester City welcomes Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium. The kick-off is scheduled for 12:30 PM ET. City is unbeaten in their last 14 games, most recently beating Copenhagen 3-1 mid-week in the opening leg of the Champions League Round of 16. As for Chelsea, they’re not competing in Europe but did grab a 3-1 victory on Monday against Crystal Palace, a step in the right direction for the Blues in what has been a disappointing campaign. Continue reading for the Manchester City vs Chelsea picks.
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Man City is a massive -280 favorite here, which gives them an implied win probability of 73.68%. Chelsea comes back at +725 and has a mere 12.12% chance of taking the full three points. A draw meanwhile is priced at +465. The Cityzens are unbeaten in their last seven meetings with the Blues, with six of those coming as wins. In November, the two played to a highly entertaining 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Man City might not be in top spot in the English top flight, but they still have every opportunity to win the league and also conquer Europe’s most prized competition. Pep Guardiola’s men are just two points behind Liverpool with a game in hand, which means the reigning champs can move past the Merseysiders in due time. City is 5-0-0 in their last five Premier League outings and finally have both Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne healthy again, which is massive for this attack.
In fact, since KDB has returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, the Belgian has contributed two goals and six assists. He was a key factor against Copenhagen on Tuesday, bagging a goal and setting up another. The Sky Blues absolutely dominated the Danish giants, controlling 79% of the ball and registering 27 shots in total, with 13 finding the target. De Bruyne netted the first goal before Copenhagen equalized but Bernardo Silva put the visitors ahead prior to halftime. Phil Foden added a consolation goal in injury time as well. City is a clear favorite to win the Champions League again, but winning another EPL title is surely the focus, too.
When it comes to domestic play, Guardiola’s group beat Everton 2-0 last Saturday at the Etihad, with Haaland getting back to his lethal ways with a brace. The Norwegian frontman leads the Premier League with 16 goals this term despite missing time through injury. He’ll be hoping to add to his account on Saturday against Chelsea.
It’s common knowledge across Europe that Chelsea spent a boatload of money across the last few transfer windows to revamp their squad. Unfortunately, it hasn’t paid off at all. The Blues are way down in 10th place, which is simply unacceptable for a club of this stature. Europe almost feels like a pipe dream at this point, with fourth-place Tottenham 13 points ahead of Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
Although Chelsea does find themselves in the League Cup Final against Liverpool, that’s about the only bright spot of 2023-24 thus far. Their 10-4-10 EPL record is simply not good enough while owning a goal difference of +1. Chelsea has scored 41 goals in 24 outings but also conceded 40. On a more positive note, the squad is enjoying a two-game winning run right now, beating Aston Villa 3-1 in their FA Cup fourth-round replay before besting Palace by the same scoreline five days later. Conor Gallagher was the main man versus the Eagles, scoring twice before Enzo Fernandez also hit the back of the net. It was a convincing performance from Chelsea but they need to do the same against quality opponents.
Sure, the Champions League is likely out of the question for next season, but making Europa isn’t totally impossible. If the Blues can string together some results here, sixth place is only seven points out. Facing City at the Etihad is a massive task though since the title-holders are unbeaten on home soil this season.
It’s difficult to look past City’s flawless form and their track record against Chelsea. It may not offer a ton of value at -280, but I have no doubts the hosts will run out with three points on Saturday afternoon.
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