Chelsea on Recovery Mission Against Manchester City
Chelsea host Manchester City on Saturday knowing that anything less than a victory will probably end their hopes of winning the Premier League title this term.
The Blues’ 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday left them 10 points behind the reigning champions approaching the halfway mark of the season.
Two second-half goals from Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota gave the hosts victory after Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s 25-yard effort was headed into his own net by Wolves captain Conor Coady after only 18 minutes.
City have reeled off seven league wins in a row to stay top of the table, two points ahead of Liverpool with Tottenham Hotspur a further six points adrift.
Pep Guardiola’s side controlled Tuesday’s game at Watford, leading through goals from Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez. The home side pulled one back through Abdoulaye Doucoure, but City held on to record an important 2-1 success.
Chelsea are priced at around 3/1 with Unibet sports betting to win Saturday’s game and that looks a generous price for a side who will have a point to prove.
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is likely to return to his full strength side at Stamford Bridge having made five changes for Tuesday’s trip to Wolves.
David Luiz, Willian, Olivier Giroud and Jorginho are all expected to start, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be rewarded for his recent good performances with a midfield berth.
City will also look to select their strongest XI for the trip to Chelsea, but will still be without first choice left-back Benjamin Mendy. Fabian Delph looks likely to start with Oleksandr Zinchenko also out.
The two sides have met on 42 occasions in the Premier League, with the Blues winning 24 and drawing seven of those meetings.
However, City did the double over Chelsea last season, recording 1-0 victories both home and away. They also ran out 2-0 winners when the two sides met in the Community Shield back in August.
City have been free-scoring this season averaging three goals per game in the Premier League, although a large number of these goals have come against teams outside last season’s top six.
In games against Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester United and Arsenal this term, City have scored just six goals at an average of 1.5 per game.
The past three fixtures between Chelsea and City have featured under 2.5 goals, so backing a repeat performance at odds of 11/8 could be the way to play this one.
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