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Both teams are desperate for the three points for contrasting reasons. Before this weekend’s fixtures, Manchester City are currently tied with Liverpool on 62 points, however, City have played one game more than their title rivals from Merseyside. This fixture is the third game inside one week for Pep Guardiola’s side, who require victory to maintain the pressure upon Liverpool. Chelsea, by contrast, trail Manchester City in the Premier League standings, by twelve points, but Maurizio Sarri’s side has one game in hand on their weekend’s opponents.
The Blues have also had the benefit of seven days off following their 5-0 thrashing of relegation threatened, Huddersfield Town, and they are currently locked in a battle for the Champions League placings, along with Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal. A victory here would give the West London side the slightest chance of Premier League honours, so everything is to play for in what promises to be a high-octane encounter.
Date: 10 February, 2019
The bookmakers believe Chelsea’s task to gain a vital away win at the Etihad Stadium is a difficult ask, even considering that City have already faced Arsenal and Everton within the last week. However, the bookmakers still have the home side as overwhelming favourites to make it 13 wins from 14 Premier League games on home soil this season.
188BET offer the best available odds on Pep Guardiola’s men of 8/15 for the Citizens to continue their strong recent form in quest of a repeat of Premier League glory. The Draw is best-priced at 15/4 with Betway, while an away victory for the West Londoners should be taken with Betfred at the top price at the time of writing of 6/1.
Reigning champions Manchester City will be hoping to repeat their 1-0 win at the Etihad from last season, when Bernardo Silva scored the solitary goal shortly after the half-time interval. Hopes for a Chelsea victory are not too distant, as the Blues claimed a 3-1 win against Manchester City back in 2016, en route to their own Premier League success in that campaign.
It is fair to say that City have improved their form in recent games, following their surprise defeat at Newcastle, while Chelsea have had indifferent results themselves in recent weeks. Only Crystal Palace have stopped Manchester City claiming all three points in front of their home support in the league this season, and even though Chelsea has had the benefit of rest over the last seven days, I don’t expect anything else than a home victory here.
Sergio Aguero
Manchester City striker, Sergio Aguero trails Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Arsenal striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the race for the Premier League’s Golden Boot, but he could move nearer to his rivals by scoring first here. BetBright are the top price of 7/2 for the Argentinian hot-shot to continue his fine scoring run, following a hat-trick against Arsenal last weekend.
Fellow City striker, Gabriel Jesus, who replaced Aguero in Wednesday’s 2-0 win at Everton is a general back-up to the Argentinian forward, but Guardiola could decide to start the Brazilian star – especially as Aguero has been heavily used of late. Jesus can be backed at 9/2 with Betway and Royal Panda. It would be sensible to check the teams before kick-off however, to see if he is in the starting eleven.
Chelsea’s first interest in the opening goal scorer market comes from Eden Hazard and Gonzalo Higuain – who are both 9/1 shots, with Unibet. Hazard has undoubted quality and the midfielder can give any defence serious problems, so City will have to be on their guard to keep him quiet. Higuain has recently joined Chelsea to team up with Maurizio Sarri from the duo’s days at Napoli together. The Argentinian broke his Premier League duck last weekend with two goals against lowly Huddersfield.
A couple of others to consider at bigger prices are City’s German midfielder, Ilkay Gundogan who has popped up with some crucial goals at specific times already this season and is worthy of consideration at 12/1 with Unibet and 888Sport. Chelsea’s Willian can stamp his authority on this game as the Brazilian midfielder has undoubted quality. At the best industry price of 20/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral, he is definitely worth a second glance.
With a low scoring game in our thoughts, our main offering for this game is for Manchester City to win the match without conceding. 188BET offers the top price for this bet at the odds of 23/13. There is not a lot of recent form to base this opinion on, however, Manchester City are a very formidable outfit on home soil in games that really matter – and this fixture is one that is a must win. Guardiola’s side will have the majority of possession, and it is likely to ultimately tell.
As is often with these previews, we like to offer up a Correct Score bet for a small stakes option to give a nice reward if successful. Our selection for this game is a 1-0 win for Manchester City, Betway are the places to find the best odds of /1 here.
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