Manchester City v Chelsea: Battle of the Blues at the Etihad

Following the final International break of 2019, the Premier League is back with a bang this weekend as Manchester City host Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening – kick: off 17:30 GMT – with both teams desperate for the points, in the hope of catching runaway league leaders, Liverpool.

After Manchester City’s 5-0 away win at West Ham, along with Chelsea’s 4-0 defeat at Manchester United on opening weekend, few people would have predicted that Frank Lampard’s side would be sitting above their opponents in the league table before Saturday’s game, but that is the reality as Chelsea lead City by one point after 12 Premier League matches.

Liverpool lead Chelsea by eight points, with City obviously one point further back. Neither team can afford to drop further behind the rampant Reds, which makes this fixture all the more intriguing for both teams and the viewing public.

Date: November 23, 2019

Match Odds

The early betting indications for this game suggest that Manchester City are on the drift and money is coming in for the other two outcomes. However, Pep Guardiola’s side are still very short at the best industry price of 7/15 with Unibet and Vbet.

The Draw is next best in the Match Betting at 4/1 with Unibet and Betway, while a Chelsea away win – which might be a significant blow to Manchester City’s title hopes – can be backed at the top price of 6/1 with SportingBet.

Chelsea have won their last six Premier League games to catapult themselves up the table to lie on level points with Leicester City, but this will be a significantly more difficult fixture than any of the previous sextuplet of games. Manchester City are a wounded animal following their 3-1 loss at Anfield before the international break, and on home soil, will surely be a difficult nut to crack for the West London outfit.

Individual Goal Scorers

Sergio Aguero

Manchester City striker, Sergio Aguero trails Chelsea striker, Tammy Abraham and Leicester forward, Jamie Vardy in the race for the Premier League’s Golden Boot, but he could move nearer to his rivals by scoring first here. Unibet are the top price of 7/2 for the Argentinian hot-shot to continue his scoring run after finding the net against Uruguay recently.

Aguero’s team-mate Raheem Sterling is narrowly behind in the race to be the Premier League’s top scorer, and he is a 4/1 chance to open the floodgates on Saturday evening with Betway. The England man returned to the international fold against Kosovo last Sunday following his recent spat with team-mate and Liverpool star, Joe Gomez. Sterling is in superb form for his club, and the Chelsea rear-guard will have to watch the former Liverpool man very closely here.

Chelsea look to have solved their central striking issues in recent weeks with the emergence of England striker, Tammy Abraham, who has already hit 10 Premier League goals this season. Abraham was also on target for the Three Lions in the 7-0 win over Montenegro last week, to already add to his burgeoning reputation. William Hill and Ladbrokes have Abraham at 11/2 to open the scoring in this game, but Unibet’s offer of 15/2 is far more appealing.

Of the remaining players that could be of interest in this game for First Goalscorer calculations, City talisman Kevin De Bruyne is an 11/1 chance with Betfred, while Chelsea’s Mason Mount is a 14/1 shot with Unibet. A couple of others to throw in at bigger prices include Nicolas Otamendi and Jorginho, who are both available at 28/1 with Betfred.

Other Side Bets

Short-price punters will be tucking into the 3/5 on offer with SportingBet for Both Teams to Score in this game. It is a very likely indeed that Manchester City will find the Chelsea net, but they often give several opportunities to their opponents – and Chelsea can capitalise, which makes this an obvious choice of bet – albeit at short odds.

I believe that this game is likely to be a high scoring affair, and on that basis, I’m prepared to disregard the option of Over 2.5 Goals in the game for the Over 3.5 Goals instead. Unibet and 888Sport’s offer of 27/25 is worth serious consideration.

With the BTTS bet in mind, our main offering for this game is for Manchester City to win the match with both teams scoring in the game. Betway offers the top price for this bet at the odds of 8/5. Four of the last five games that City have played at home have all seen goals for the away side – and this game could continue that regular occurrence.

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 3-1 win for Manchester City. Betfred is the place to find the best odds of 10/1.

Best Bets:

• Manchester City to Win the Match and Both Teams to Score at 8/5 with Betway
• Over 3.5 Goals in the Match at 27/25 with Unibet
• Manchester City 3-1 Chelsea Correct Score bet at 10/1 with Betfred.