Premier League: Manchester City vs Chelsea betting preview

Saturday brings a tantalizing Premier League affair between two of the biggest clubs in England as title-holders Manchester City plays host to Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. The kick-off is scheduled for 12:30 PM ET. City is coming off a convincing win in the Champions League mid-week over Copenhagen and has won six of their last seven meetings with the Blues. The last clash in November ended level at 4-4 in arguably the most entertaining game of the campaign. Chelsea comes in with a bit of momentum here as well, beating Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in back-to-back fixtures.

Man City

By no surprise, Man City is one of the most dominant sides in the world again. Pep Guardiola’s men have every opportunity to win another treble, sitting as one of the favorites in the Champions League and the Premier League. Despite sitting two points behind first place Liverpool, the Sky Blues have a game in hand, which means they could go ahead of their rivals. City is unbeaten in their last 12 outings, dropping a mere two points during that span in a draw with Crystal Palace way back in December.

City dominated Copenhagen on Tuesday in the UCL, controlling 79% of the possession and mustering up 27 shots, with 13 hitting the target. Kevin De Bruyne, who returned last month from injury, scored the opener and also assisted another. The Belgian has two goals and six assists since coming back. Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden also hit the back of the net, giving the visitors a clear advantage heading into the second leg in Manchester next month.

Domestically, Erling Haaland powered City to three points last week with a brace against Everton, taking his tally to 16 on the season. That’s the best in the Premier League, despite the Norwegian missing time with an injury. The Sky Blues are a massive -290 favorite on Saturday at Bodog.

Chelsea

Spend all the money, but no results. That’s the unfortunate reality for Chelsea, who splash the cash every transfer window yet struggle to find consistent results. Mauricio Pochettino’s men are 10th in the table and a whole 13 points off a Champions League spot. The only bright spot is that the Blues are in the Carabao Cup Final against Liverpool, their only chance at some silverware this term.

A victory over Villa in their FA Cup replay was a positive though considering how good the Lions have been. Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson, and Enzo Fernandez got on the scoresheet in the win, setting up a date with Leeds in the next round. Against Palace, Gallagher once again produced the goods, scoring a brace. Chelsea is now 3-0-2 in their last five games.

Cole Palmer has proven to be the star of the show up top, scoring 10 and assisting six since coming over from Man City last summer. Jackson also has seven goals, while Raheem Sterling has five goals and three assists. Chelsea hasn’t beaten Man City since the UCL final in May of 2021, so you can understand why they’re such a heavy underdog here at soccer betting sites.

Injury news

Man City doesn’t have too many injury concerns at the moment, but Chelsea’s treatment room is still packed. Reece James, Marc Cucurella, and Lesley Ugochukwu are all sidelined. But, the likes of Robert Sanchez, Trevor Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, and Christopher Nkunku could return for the trip to Manchester.