Manchester City v Chelsea Preview, Stats and Betting Tips, Sunday 4th March 2018, Kick off: 16:00

After throwing away a lead to lose at Old Trafford last weekend, Manchester is the last place that Chelsea want to be visiting on Sunday. Unfortunately for Antonio Conte’s men, that’s exactly where they’re heading for a match against runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City. The Citizens secured their first piece of silverware under Pep Guardiola at Wembley last Sunday and are aiming to wrap up the league title as quickly as possible.

Pah, City are gonna win the league, that’s a formality. But who is going to win the World Cup? Check out our World Cup betting guide and offers!

Manchester City v Chelsea Head to Head Record

  • Chelsea 0-1 Man City – 30th September 2017, Premier League
  • Chelsea 2-1 Man City – 5th April 2017, Premier League
  • Man City 1-3 Chelsea – 3rd December 2016, Premier League
  • Chelsea 0-3 Man City – 16th April 2016, Premier League
  • Chelsea 5-1 Man City – 21st February 2016, FA Cup

Manchester City v Chelsea Preview

By normal Premier League standards, Chelsea ran away with the title last season. The Blues were nigh on unstoppable thanks largely to the 3-4-3 formation employed by Antonio Conte and ended up securing 93 points from their 38 matches.

While Pep Guardiola could only watch on with envy as the plaudits came flying in for Conte, it’s the Spaniard who is winning all the praise 12 months on. Man City showed no sign of a hangover from their EFL Cup celebrations against Arsenal on Thursday night. The Citizens were at their very best in the first half and could have won by an ever bigger scoreline.

The victory in north London takes Man City even closer to the Premier League title and there’s no sign of them dropping their levels any time soon. Even when cruising at 3-0 against Arsenal, City players were getting frustrated when their teammates picked the wrong pass or ran down a blind alley. The squad have clearly taken their manager’s perfectionism on board so you can expect another fully committed performance against Chelsea.

Man City certainly turned in a high quality performance the last time they played Chelsea. Despite being the away side, City kept 61% of possession, had 17 shots to Chelsea’s four and outperformed the hosts all over the pitch. Free of any real expectation, Chelsea can sit back and try to hurt Man City on the counter in the return game at the Etihad but Guardiola’s men always find a route through at home and are the clear favourites to pick up the points.

Relevant Stats, Injuries and Suspensions

As just touched upon, Man City have a phenomenal record when it comes to scoring goals at home. They’ve scored in every league game at the Etihad and Everton are the only team to limit Guardiola’s men to one goal. Chelsea have drawn a blank just twice on their travels so will hope they’ll at least be able to make a game of it in Manchester, just like they did in the first half against Man Utd.

The problem that all Chelsea fans have is they’re never sure which team will show up. The Blues are without back to back wins in any of their last seven matches, not a stat that fills them with too much confidence about their chances of a top four finish. Chelsea have also already lost four times on their travels while they have only two wins against the Premier League’s top seven sides.

Conte’s team may be up against it according to the odds but he does have pretty much a fully fit squad to choose from. Guardiola still has to make do without first choice left back Benjamin Mendy while Fabian Delph remains suspended.

Manchester City v Chelsea Tips

Manchester City are the odds on favourites for Sunday’s match but there’s still value to be found about a home win. The best price you can find about City is the 13/20 that BetVictor are quoting which looks decent value.

Those looking for a little more from yet another three points for Man City can bet on them winning and over 2.5 goals in the game at 13/10 with Betfair. City are more than capable of scoring three goals on their own while Chelsea will provide their own goal threat with players like Eden Hazard, Willian and Alvaro Morata in their ranks.

Chelsea have a good record in the first half of their league matches this season despite their topsy turvy form. They’ve scored 23 and conceded just 10 in their 28 matches to date which is exactly the sort of stat Guardiola will know given how meticulously he plans for matches. Man City will try to get out in front as early as possible but a first half goal is within Chelsea’s capabilities so bet on both teams to score in the first half at 10/3 with Ladbrokes.

If you fancy a bet on Sunday’s massive game, be sure to have a look at all of the available free bets and offers. Why look a gift horse in the mouth (unless you’re a gift horse dentist)?

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