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With Reece James out injured, Enzo Fernandez would have likely captained Chelsea in this contest. But Liam Rosenior’s decision to suspend his midfield metronome for praising his former Blues boss Enzo Maresca leaves the Londoners with a leadership void.
And boy, do they need strong leaders right now. Chelsea were thrashed 8-2 on aggregate by PSG in the Champions League, as well as suffering EPL defeats to Newcastle (1-0) and Everton (3-0) in recent times.
A 7-0 victory over Port Vale in the FA Cup is neither here nor there given that 60 places separate the two sides in the English football pyramid.
An early exit from the Champions League hurt Man City, but with no game in midweek they head to London fresh and ready to fire on Sunday.
Mostly at full strength, Pep Guardiola’s men will continue to fight on in a bid to overhaul Arsenal’s lead at the summit of the Premier League table.
Chelsea v Man City tips
Man City to win @ 11/10 (bet365)
Man City over 1.5 goals @ 8/11 (bet365)
Both teams to receive 2+ cards @ 5/6 (bet365)
Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at the time of publication and subject to change.
Away win
Chelsea haven’t beaten Manchester City since 2021.
The Cityzens were comfortable winners when the two sides last met at Stamford Bridge at the start of the 2024/25 season, so Guardiola has had the edge on various Blues bosses over the years.
This current Chelsea iteration does not exactly instil confidence, and without Fernandez and the injured James – and with key players like Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo also seemingly out of form – there is a fragility to Rosenior’s side right now.
Who better to take advantage than City, who have beaten Arsenal and Liverpool to nil in their last two games?
Tip: Man City to win @ 11/10 (bet365)
Explanation: All we need is Manchester City to win by any scoreline for this bet to land.
Like a knife through butter
Since the start of February, Man City have scored two or more goals against both Liverpool and Newcastle United twice, while also defeating Arsenal – the best defensive team in the land – by a two-goal margin in the EFL Cup final.
That’s particularly relevant here as we expect them to beat Chelsea, so it’s not a huge leap of faith to predict that they will score two or more on Sunday.
The Blues, meanwhile, have lost 5-2 and 3-0 to PSG recently, before being stuffed last time out in the Premier League 3-0 by Everton. Defensively, Rosenior clearly has issues to solve.
Tip: Man City over 1.5 goals @ 8/11 (bet365)
Explanation: For this bet to be successful, Man City need to score two or more goals in the game.
Feisty fun
When these two sides met in January, they combined to commit 26 fouls, make 44 tackles and receive six cards… split almost equally between them.
That was a feisty affair played out by two teams with players who can suffer the dreaded ‘head loss’ in raucous games, which this may well turn out to be again in front of an impassioned Stamford Bridge crowd.
Both teams received three cards each in that January encounter; we can get a fair price on them receiving two apiece on Sunday.
Tip: Both teams to receive 2+ cards @ 5/6 (bet365)
Explanation: Both Chelsea and Man City need to be shown two or more cards – yellow or red, it doesn’t matter.
Chelsea v Man City: Match result odds
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The odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change.