England Premier League
Saturday 8th May 2021
Kick off at 5:30pm BST
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Match Preview:
The Champions League final will come early as the two finalists for this season will meet first in the Premier League on Saturday.
This could prove to be quite a game given that a win for Manchester City would seal the league title for them. However Chelsea will need to go for the win also to try and secure a top four finish.
Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 2-0 last weekend and are 13 points clear of 2nd placed Manchester United. It was a superb week for the club who also reached their first ever Champions League final as they beat PSG 2-0 to win 4-1 on aggregate. Form is good and City have won 4 of their last 5 games. There could be some concern at their recent home form though which has seen 2 defeats from their last three at the Etihad with defeats against Manchester United and Leeds but that could be more to the club winding down after taking such a dominant lead in the standings. Lest we forget that Pep Guardiola’s team has the best home record in the league and have won 38 points from a possible 51.
Chelsea beat Real Madrid 2-0 to win 3-1 on aggregate in midweek and make it to their 3rd Champions League final and their first since 2012. In beating Madrid it means that Chelsea have never lost to them. In the league the club have lost just once since the end of January and last week they beat Fulham 2-0 in the local derby. Chelsea look good for at least 4th place and the ball is in their court but West Ham, Tottenham and Liverpool have not given up the chase just yet and the Blues have a 3 point advantage over 5th placed West Ham coming into this weekend.
On the road Chelsea have the 5th best record in the league and have won their last 2 games beating both Crystal Palace and West Ham and scoring five goals in those games. The Blues have lost 4 games away from home but are unbeaten since January.
Team News:
Manchester City: There are no injuries for City but John Stones is serving a ban for his red card a couple of weeks ago and is ruled out for this game.
Chelsea: Mateo Kovacic is a doubt with his hamstring injury and remains at 50/50 to be involved in this match.
Man City vs Chelsea Head to Head:
Last season Manchester City won this fixture 2-1.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture Manchester City won 3-1.
Chelsea have not won away to City since 2016 going back 4 games.
The last 4 meetings in a row has seen over 2.5 goals.
Man City vs Chelsea Prediction:
A dress rehearsal for the Champions League final, both sides could maybe do without such a fixture at this time. This will be interesting as we are currently looking at the two most in form sides in England and now possibly the two best in Europe. Both will come into this game with confidence and swagger and Chelsea would love to delay City’s title for another week.
Pep Guardiola will have to do what only Sam Allardyce has achieved so far and beat Chelsea, a draw could well suffice though and the Blues will feel that they can’t leave anything to chance. The worst case scenario for Chelsea would be after all of their efforts finishing 5th and losing the Champions League final. But there is so much quality in this team it’s difficult to see that outcome.
Guardiola's side could have one eye on the Champions League final as the Premier League is theirs, however Chelsea need to focus to keep 4th place, therefore it might be worth backing the away side on the handicap so the draw is covered. Also we feel this game won't be as cagey as the Champions League final might be, therefore there could be a few goals.
Man City vs Chelsea Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (+0.5 Chelsea) at 2.01
Goal line (Over 2) at 1.65
Both teams to score at 2.00
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