Manchester City vs. Chelsea, EPL Round 22, 15 January 14:30
Manchester City vs. Chelsea, EPL Round 22, 15 January 14:30

The Citizens’ last EPL action was on New Year’s day at the Emirates where they completed a spectacular comeback to snatch a 2-1 victory in stoppage time. Their victory against Arsenal means they are now ten points clear at the top of the EPL table and the chances of them being caught in the race for the title are getting slimmer by the week. They have now put together 11 consecutive league wins since their last loss against Crystal Palace at the end of October and in total they have only lost two matches the entire season. City’s attack has shown no mercy in recent months and has only failed to score less than two goals per match in two of their last 11 EPL wins. Their recent goal rampage includes a 6-3 win at home to Leicester, a 4-0 win away to Newcastle and a 7-0 win at home to Leeds. Although their opposition has been stronger in the fixtures since then it’s not slowed down Pep’s attack and it comes as no surprise that City are still the top scorers in the league with 53 goals this season. Their defense should also be commended for only letting in 13 goals the entire season and despite it not being as watertight as what it used to be a few months back, goals are still hard to come by against the Citizens and they remain best in the league. Last weekend the Citizens took on League Two side Swindon in the FA Cup where they comfortably won 4-1 and they will now shift their focus back to the league as they get ready to take on Chelsea for the second time this season and try to complete the season double against them.

Despite only winning one of their last five EPL fixtures Tuchel’s men have managed to creep into second spot on the EPL table with 43 points. Their most recent league clash saw them play to a 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge a day after New Year’s, while they also missed out on valuable points when they drew at home to Brighton in their final clash of 2021. Although the Blues haven’t lost since their match against West Ham at the beginning of December their title hopes have been severely dampened as a result of matches being drawn when they really should have been won. Wolves and Everton are further examples of matches where they should have picked up maximum points but failed to do so and unless the Blues can put an end to their run of draws in the EPL they can just about kiss their chances of winning the league goodbye. On a positive note, Tuchel’s men have been playing a lot better in their three cup matches this month and Wednesday night saw them booking their spot in the EFL Cup final at Wembley after they beat Spurs 3-0 on aggregate. They also stormed to a 5-1 win against National League side Chesterfield in their FA Cup match last weekend and although they were on a much higher level than their opponents, four first-half goals was a very positive sign for Chelsea and they will look to use their momentum from their cup performances to spark something special in their next league clash.

Manchester City have fared marginally better in the last five EPL clashes between the two teams with three wins, while the Blues have won two. The last time the teams met was at Stamford Bridge in September with City narrowly winning 1-0, but it was the Blues who walked away as winners in the last clash at the Etihad after a stoppage time winner by Marcos Alonso secured them a 2-1 win last season. History suggests that we should be in for a few goals on Saturday as four out of the last five EPL matches have featured over 2.5 goals, while the same number of matches has seen both teams finding the back of the net.

Prediction

There couldn’t be a better way to kick-off Saturday’s EPL action than a clash between the two top teams in the league. With number one and two locking horns you might think that we will be in for a close clash, but I am inclined to think otherwise. The Citizens are just on a whole different level at the moment, while the Blues have struggled to see their EPL games through and have had to settle for draws in their last two. The Blues are no longer the top defensive side they were earlier in the season and I expect City to easily break through their attack and score at least a couple in this one. The Blues may have been successful on both of their visits to the Etihad last season, but I don’t believe Tuchel’s men have what it takes to bag three consecutive wins at this venue and you can be sure that the Citizens will be out for revenge this time around. City losing both of their previous clashes at the Etihad against Chelsea has certainly influenced the price for them to win this clash and I think 1.70 for a home win is very generous based on their current form. Over 2.5 goals at around 1.80 also looks very attractive to me considering the stats mentioned, while I also believe Manchester City to win and both teams to score is worth a crack. The Blues will be taking some momentum from their cup clashes into the match and I reckon they will able to get on the scoreboard, but I don’t see their defense being able to stop an onslaught from City and we could possibly see a scoreline of 2-1 or 3-1 in favour of the hosts. Lastly, I fancy Kevin De Bruyne to score in the match. The Belgian seems to really pull out his best performances on home turf and he has netted three times in his last two matches at the Etihad. You can get around 3.00 for him to score anytime and it’s definitely worth a nibble.

BetOlimp Best Bets

Manchester City to win – 1.70
Total Goals: Total 2.5 over – 1.80
Victory and Both to Score: yes and Manchester City – 3.25
Anytime Goalscorer: Kevin De Bruyne – 3.00

 

You have been logged in for 1 hour(s).
During this session, you have:
- a settled bets balance of: 0 ZAR
- placed unsettled bets to the value of: 0 ZAR