Premier League: Chelsea vs. Manchester City odds, predictions, picks
Manchester City is doing it again. Like last year, the Cityzens didn’t look entirely convincing in the first half of the Premier League season and their pedestrian (by their standards) start to the campaign allowed a rival team to build a decent lead at the top of the table.
But, and stop me if you’ve heard this before, City has got hot at the top of the stretch and looks like the best team in the world at the moment.
The Sky Blues are -310 favorites over Chelsea on Saturday afternoon (12:30 p.m. ET).
Like City, Chelsea’s season is following a familiar pattern. The Blues have plenty of talent in their ranks, a world-class manager and a strong statistical profile, but the results just aren’t there. Chelsea currently sits in 1oth-place with as many losses (10) as wins and a +1 goal difference (41 GF, 40 GA).
Chelsea’s +10.2 expected goal (xG) differential is much more encouraging, but we have a large sample of this same song and dance from the Blues, so it could just be their identity at this point. A talented team that can tilt the field in the right direction, but one that also doesn’t capitalize on their opportunities.
There’s really not too much to get into with City. They are the best team in the world at the moment and several players are firing on all cylinders, which is why they’ve won nine matches on the spin across all competitions and haven’t lost a game since Dec. 6. Once again, stop me if you’ve heard this before.
But it is worth noting that City haven’t really played a tough schedule during this recent run and their defense has not looked impenetrable. Everton, Burnley, Newcastle and Brentford all created at least 1.0 xG against City and the Cityzens have just one clean sheet in their last four matches which came against Everton, Burnley, Brentford and FC Copenhagen.
It’ll take a monstrous effort and plenty of luck for Chelsea to stop City’s streak, but this number is too long on a team with heaps of talent and a strong statistical profile.
The Bet: Chelsea +700 (FanDuel)
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