If we were to be facetious, we could describe this as a game between two clubs run by owners who spend their vast amount of money well against those who don’t. Manchester City have won nine out of their opening 11 Premier League fixtures this year on the back of winning a historic treble last season. Maintaining motivation might have been a concern for all. Still, Pep Guardiola appears to be someone other than a manager prone to taking his foot on the gas, and a quality revamp of the squad will prevent things from becoming stale.
On the other hand, Chelsea are a bit of a mess; however, things are looking better for the Blues since they have picked up some impressive wins to improve upon their very shaky start. Arguably, their best two performances of the season have come against Liverpool and Arsenal, which will give manager Pochettino some encouragement going up against the best team in world football.
Chelsea Vs Manchester City Tips
A lot has been said about Chelsea’s spending, and rightly so. When you spend $1 billion in the space of one year, there would be an acceptance that they have to win the title or, at the very least, be a significant title rival to Manchester City. This, however, has yet to be the case, and every Chelsea fan in the world would take a top-four finish right now, but in our opinion, any form of European football might be hard to come by. Some of the spending looks impromptu and could have been better spent on more established players. The fees were astronomical for some of the talent acquired. Sure, once the team gels, we expect things to look much better for Pochettino’s side, but it will take some convincing that this has been money well spent.
As a rule of thumb, if you can beat a team like Spurs, who, up until Monday night, went the season unbeaten 4-1, the only thing you would be receiving is praise. However, those who saw the game were left outstanded by how well Spurs could compete with just nine men on the field. The last two goals came in the dying minutes of the game and overall, we were left feeling underwhelmed by this Chelsea side.
Chelsea Vs Manchester City Match Analysis
Manchester City did have a mini wobble earlier in the season when they lost two Premier League games on the bounce, but it should not go without mentioning that they were able to win the other nine, so they aren’t exactly in bad form. Erling Haaland has been perceived not to be as electric this year, but he still has acquired 11 goals in as many games. The standard we have come to expect from this fantastic Manchester City side is something to behold.
Chelsea are at home; therefore, they should feel like they can pull off a result that will really get their season flowing. Cole Palmer, who, of course, left City in the summer for a sizeable fee, has received praise for the way he has settled into life in a Chelsea shirt and he should go on to become a massive player for the Blues. Since we love a good narrative here, a bet on Cole Palmer to score the first goal represents excellent value.
ODDS FOR COLE PALMER TO SCORE: 4.9 @ Reel Crypto
Chelsea Vs Manchester City Predictions
Most people would predict Manchester City to be the favorite for this game, but Chelsea could bring an element of unpredictability with their well-rested squad, who did not have to play midweek. Anthony Taylor will be officiating this game and will be cautious to avoid any talking points like in his last Premier League match, which means the chances of a team getting decisions their way are unlikely.
We certainly think Manchester City is odds on to win this game, but we do expect the game to be tighter than most think. Throughout his time as a manager, Pochettino has been known for implementing a high-pressing system. Therefore, they do have the ability to frustrate this City side. This is why we are backing 1-1 as a great selection based on the odds you can find detailed below.
ODDS FOR THE FINAL RESULT 1-1 7.650 @ BLACK
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea will be missing several big names on the teamsheet for their upcoming clash versus City as Christopher Nkunku, Trevoh Chalobah, Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana, and Ben Chilwell are all out. Christopher Nkunku was expected to be back by now, according to reports earlier in this season, but it looks like his return date is now set somewhere after the international break.
There are also doubts over the availability of Armando Broja and Carney Chukwuemeka, who have both struggled with recent injuries themselves and considering the stakes of this game, it is unlikely that they will play on Sunday. Nkunku, Chalobah, and Fofana missing games due to injuries means that Mauricio Pochettino will be struggling with squad depth, something that their opponents rarely have a problem with.
Despite the injuries, Chelsea might offer a number of dangerous threats in players like Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and even Mykhailo Mudryk, who has had a decent start by last season’s standards.
Manchester City Team News
Manchester City will also be missing out on a number of star players for their trip to Chelsea. Still, their situation looks better in comparison, as they have decent backups for almost every position. John Stones and Manuel Akanji were both out with injuries, but they made an early return in their Champions League fixture, which means they will likely feature on Sunday as well.
Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Gomez are two players out for the long term, and the team will miss their creativity in the midfield while they are absent. On a positive front, Erling Haaland’s knock against Bournemouth was only a minor one, and he played midweek in the Champions League, so he should be all set to face Chelsea on Sunday.
Rodri’s return from suspension has also shown a positive trend in Manchester City’s form, so we can expect City to do better in the upcoming games and avoid any slip-ups like their two losses earlier this season.
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