The 0-6 win at Ipswich Town may have just given Manchester City a much-needed boost to get back to winning ways. The papers are littered with news about Pep Guardiola’s high profile divorce, rumours about the departure of Kyle Walker and possibly Jack Grealish, as well as Erling Haaland’s new 9-year contract. City’s decline may be nearing an end though, as the team confirmed the signings of defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, to strengthen their injury-ridden backline.
But Manchester City will have a tough time in fending off Chelsea, who are one of the most devastating attacking teams in the league. They too had a few recent hiccups, dropping points in matches against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Ipswich and Fulham. Though Chelsea bounced back in their recent victory against Wolves, and the team will be eyeing to build some momentum to stay in the top 4. Title hopes are probably off the table for both, but they can still keep in the running with a win in this upcoming match.
Manchester City vs Chelsea Details
January 25, Saturday 17:30 @ Etihad Stadium
The Citizens are fighting back, and the addition of the two new defenders will certainly give them the depth they need to keep fighting for a place among the top 4. The two defensive players may not be ready in time to face Chelsea, but the intent is quite clear from City. They don’t have any serious problems in the goal scoring department, the team has scored 44 goals in 22 EPL matches, 16 of which have come in their last 6 outings. Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji are Guardiola’s preferred duo at the back, but with John Stones out and Nathan Ake still not available, City needs more defensive options.
Chelsea has been one of the most exciting teams to watch in the Premier League this season, but they have also had their fair share of frustrating performances. They are one of the league’s top teams, but they struggle to keep consistency. When considering the creativity, strength and speed in attack from the likes of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho, it is surprising that Chelsea failed to beat Bournemouth, Palace, Fulham and Ipswich.
Betting Tips for Manchester City vs Chelsea
Neither of these teams really shies away in front of goal, and the potential for goals is huge. Browsing around the top footie betting sites and we found that the even money (or close to even money) betting line for total goals in this match is drawn at 3.5 goals. The oddsmakers have this as a 3-4 goal game, and the stats surely point towards a high scoring endeavour.
Yet, in recent years the most common scoreline is 1-0. Manchester City won 4 of the last 7 H2H matches by a score of exactly 1-0 – if you think history can repeat itself for a fifth time – the correct score odds are 11/1. Otherwise, there haven’t been many high scoring games between these two, with the exception of the 4-4 match at Stamford Bridge back in 2023.
Match Outcome
Right now, given the two teams’ mishaps and moments of magic in recent weeks, it is difficult to predict the way this match may go. At this stage, neither will be seriously playing for the title, yet settling for a draw would feel like a wasted opportunity for both Chelsea and City.
Chelsea’s title hopes were dashed back in December when they ended their 9 game undefeated streak and dropped points in 5 matches in a row. They will come into this game with an eye to win, but we feel that City, with the home advantage, should be able to claim the 3 points. The win would put City ahead of Chelsea, into the top 4, and possibly give chase to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. They are the favourites to win, but the odds are still lengthy enough to make good returns on a City home win.
Manchester City Moneyline @ 10/11
Most Likely Goal Scorers
The two key players to watch in this match are Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer. They are the top goalscorers for their respective teams, penalty kick takers, and both are in good form going into this game. Our doubts around Erling Haaland are that the match against Chelsea is bookmarked by 2 important Champions League games, and Guardiola will most likely want to field Haaland in all three matches. That means, he may be substituted early to have enough time to recover for the last round of Champions League games. Haaland may only get 60-70 minutes of matchtime, so he will need to make it count.
Cole Palmer can get goals early and he is far more consistent in his performances of late than Haaland. But Palmer is a winger and there isn’t the same type of pressure on him to score as there is on Haaland. Palmer is a great chance creator and an intelligent talisman who can also set up goal scoring opportunities. Our experts reckon Cole Palmer will try to get a goal against his former club, and we found great betting value on Palmer to pop off 2 or more shots.
Erling Haaland Anytime Goal Scorer @ 3/4
Cole Palmer 2+ Shots @ 9/5
Betting on Match Events and Stats
The oddsmakers have set the even total betting line for goals scored at 3.5, which is quite bold assuming their last matches have ended with 2 or fewer goals. Picking a line of 2.5 and betting over does not come at great betting value, and runs the risk of the game ending with yet another small scoreline.
Corners are an interesting market to bet on as teams can easily rack up a tally with consecutive corner kicks. However, neither team is especially noted for a high corner conversion rate, and their defences are both well-equipped to handle corner kicks. Therefore, we will pick a high line of 12.5 and bet under.
Another crucial aspect to consider is bookings in this game. City have been very disciplined in their last few games, not picking up unnecessary cards or losing their heads, even when the games don’t go their way. Chelsea are quite similar in that aspect, and whichever way this match goes, we aren’t expecting a high volume of cards. Chelsea are the more likely of the two teams to receive the first booking.
Under 12.5 Corners @ 4/11
Under 5.5 Cards @ 31/40
Chelsea First Card @ 11/20
BettingTools Manchester City vs Chelsea EPL Round 23 Tips
There are loads of other intriguing betting markets to assess, such as BTTS or Total Goals, but our experts have decided to play safe and keep things simple. We have combined our selections into two bet builders of different levels of risk. Should you like our selections but want to opt for another combination of betting picks, feel free to load the odds into our acca calculator, mixing and matching the selections until you get the odds you like best.
We are leaning more towards City on this match, but we would love to hear your suggestions and your betting picks. Hit us up on X (Twitter) @BettingTools with your bet slip, and we will see you on matchday.
