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Premier League Preview, Manchester City Vs. Chelsea: Prediction, Probable Lineups, And Betting Tips

By Pradeep Nepal
Published on: 01:07 PST, Dec 1, 2016

Match Preview

Huge anticipation buzzes around the footballing world as one of the biggest fixtures of the English Premier League, Manchester City vs. Chelsea, is set to take place on Saturday.

Manchester City is up against their major title rivals, Chelsea, and the hosts will try to show their contention for title by beating the Blues.

Chelsea, arguably the best team in Premier League at the moment, is in an excellent form as they have won seven successive Premier League matches.

With 31 points safely stored into their pockets, the league leaders will look to continue their unbeaten streak when they visit the Etihad stadium this weekend.

Pep Guardiola’s men are just a point behind Chelsea in the league standings, and they certainly will try to disrupt the Blues’ winning momentum. A win will take Man City at the top of the Premier League table.

City has always been a stumbling block for Chelsea in recent years as Chelsea has won just once against the Etihad outfit in their last six matches.

Team News: Manchester City

Influential captain Vincent Kompany is a long-term absentee for Manchester City due to a knee injury. Kompany was extremely unlucky to pick up yet another injury, and it seems he will struggle to contribute for Man City this season as he had hoped.

English winger Fabian Delph will also miss the match because of a groin problem.

Raheem Sterling, who has been a key member in Guardiola’s team, remains a major doubt for the Chelsea clash after picking up a knock in the win against Burnley.

Guardiola, who suggested Chelsea as the best team in EPL right now, will have to find a tactical way to counter Chelsea’s 3-4-3 formation, which has brought immense success for the Blues.

Sergio Aguero, who is joint top scorer along Diego Costa with 10 goals, will be a key player for Manchester City to cause problems for Chelsea’s formidable defensive lineup.

Manchester City Predicted Line-up (4-2-3-1) vs. Chelsea

Bravo -Sagna, Stones, Otamendi, Kolarov – Fernandinho, Toure – De Bruyne, Nolito, Silva – Aguero

Team News: Chelsea

Bertrand Traore is congratulated by Eden Hazard (R) after scoring a goal in a Chelsea vs. Manchester City game. [Image by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images]

Injury concerns for Chelsea are relatively minor as only few players are unfit ahead of the City clash.

Captain John Terry is yet to recover from a muscle injury, and he is expected to remain sidelined along with John Obi Mikel.

Kurt Zouma and Marco Van Ginkel have recovered from their injuries, however, they will not be in the starting lineup due to the lack of match fitness.

One of the vital reasons for the Blues success this season is their consistency in the starting XI. Antonio Conte seems to have found his perfect team, which is why he hasn’t rotated his team much. So, we expect no changes in the Chelsea team vs. the Sky Blues.

Chelsea Predicted Line-up (3-4-3) vs. Man City

Courtois – Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta – Alonso, Kante, Matic, Moses – Pedro, Hazard, Costa.

Manchester City vs. Chelsea: Head-to-Head

Total games: 155
Manchester City wins: 52
Chelsea wins: 64
Draws: 39

Man City vs. Chelsea: TV Schedule and Channel

In the U.K., the match will be live on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Sports 1/HD UK, Sky Go UK, NOW TV UK, SKY GO Extra, and BBC Radio Manchester. For other regions, TV schedule can be found in the link here.

Man City vs. Chelsea: Prediction

In a well-balanced match like this, it will be juvenile to pick up a favorite. Both teams are in a great run of form.

City has lost only one match in this season’s Premier League while Chelsea is unbeaten in their last seven league matches.

However, we slightly suspect Man City’s credentials as the Pep Guardiola side has failed to show consistency in their performance as a whole.

On the other hand, Chelsea has been a well-disciplined unit with thriving attack since Arsenal game. The likes of Hazard, Costa, and Pedro are in an excellent form, and their linkup play will be tough for City’s backline to resist. The Blues are likely to add on their momentum and emerge as a winner in this electrifying clash.

Final Predicted Score: Manchester City 1-2 Chelsea

Man City vs. Chelsea: Betting Tips and Odds

  1. Manchester City win: 11/10
  2. A draw: 5/2
  3. Chelsea win: 5/2
  4. Under 2.5 goals: 11/10
  5. Over 2.5 goals: 4/6
  6. Both teams score: 4/7
  7. Both teams fail to score: 5/4

The odds were provided by Paddypower.

Key Stats to consider

  • Man City has drawn three recent home matches in the Premier League.
  • Man City has kept just two clean sheets in their 13 Premier League games under Guardiola.
  • Chelsea has won their last seven Premier League matches.
  • Chelsea has collected just two points from their last four league games against City (D2 L2).

The Man City vs. Chelsea stats were provided by Soccerway.

[Featured Image by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images]

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