Chelsea vs. Manchester City and Pick to Win
Date:Saturday, December 3rd, 2016
Where: English Premier League Etihad Stadium, Clayton, Manchester, UK
by Keith, Professional Soccer/Football Handicapper, Predictem
Match Odds: Chelsea 3/4, Manchester City 11/10, Draw 13/8
Moneyline: Chelsea +260, Manchester City +110, Draw +260
Over/Under Best Market: NO PLAY
This week features a battle of champions as no team two clubs have more English Premier League championships in the past five years than the Blues of Chelsea and the Citizens of Manchester City. Once again it is a battle for English supremacy, the North versus the South, Manchester versus London for a contest which will give the winner the pole position on the English Premier League table. This match in itself has decided English Premier League titles in the past.
Currently, Chelsea sits towards the top English Premier League table with 22 points, just one point. The Blues will play have their hands filled when they travel up the M1 to face Manchester City in the hostile confines of Etihad Stadium. The Blues defeated Tottenham Hotspur most recently. The Spurs were the same team that handed Manchester City their first defeat this season when they beat the Blue team from the North by a score of 2-0. The Blues feature a renowned home pitch advantage in Stamford Bridge, quantified by Chelseas shelling of Manchester United in London, much to the delight of Uniteds cross-city rivals who will be taking the pitch this week against the Blues. However, as we have highlighted the Blues will be away from home and when we have seen Chelsea away from London we have seen some crazy things happen such as Chelsea falling to Sunderland up on the Tyne side. Nevertheless, the Blues are an excellent team and feature personnel such as Diego Costa and Eden Hazard. After regime changes and a shuffling of the deck, Chelsea seems poised to make a run for the English Premier League title and much more if possible. The Blues have outscored opponents 9-1 in their last four fixtures and they are showing no signs of let up after they came from behind to defeat Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge. The Blues have won their last four fixtures after losing to West Ham United 2-1.
After getting off to a hot start, Manchester City had showed signs of attrition. However, Manchester City seems to have reinvigorated their step. Manchester City has more or less been thrashing opponents they have crossed paths with since Pep Guardiola took control. Most notably, Manchester City took it to Barcelonaarguably the premiere team in all of Europe when they spanked them in Spain by a score of 3-1. This is a Barcelona team that features the likes of Messi, Neymar and Suarez comprising their frontal attack. Nevertheless the Citizens simply know how to generate offense. Most recently, the Citizens had to work for a win against Burnley when they came out on top 2-1. Nevertheless, Manchester City remains a favorite to win the league as they control their own destiny at this point.
For both Manchester City and Chelsea a draw keeps the status quo and would allow the duo to keep them in position to stay at the top of the table and keep the pressure on Liverpool. City and Chelsea have the firepower to open this contest in to a high scoring affair but we suspect that they may not find the need in doing so as they can settle this account later in the season. Nevertheless, City has home pitch and will be rearing to take advantage of it and force a draw in London later in the campaign if they had their way. However, they can both also take a conservative route in approaching this contest. Once again in this weeks market, we will keep it strictly focused on Manchester City with a potential net of 1.1 units. For the second straight week we will stay off the Over/Under as there are no favorable markets worth dropping a penny on.
Chelsea Recent Form
W Tottenham Hotspur 2-1
W Middlesborough 1-0
W Everton 5-0
W Southampton 2-0
L West Ham United 1-2
Manchester City Recent Form
W Burnley 2-1
D Mglabach 1-1
W Crystal Palace 2-1
D Middlesborough 1-1
W Barcelona 3-1
Keith’s Prediction for the Game: Manchester City 11/10 (+110) and NO PLAY ON OVER/UNDER.