Manchester City and Chelsea are set to clash in the 22nd round of the Premier League this week, so let’s not waste any time and take a look at Man City vs. Chelsea odds and which Premier League special bets are worth wagering on.
The bookies and the Man City vs Chelsea betting odds they provide suggest that the hosts shouldn’t be too concerned about slipping in their 22nd match of the season. But if this season has taught us anything, we should always expect the unexpected.
Now let’s look at our Man City vs Chelsea betting preview and see what our football betting expert has to say about the upcoming clash of the EPL titans on Saturday, January 15, 2022.
The EPL sports betting sites have synonymously agreed to price Manchester City as heavy favourites to defeat Chelsea on Saturday at 4/6. Meanwhile, you can bet on Chelsea at a very generous 4/1 and a draw at 3/1.
The betting odds heavily favour Man City for this bout, which isn’t too shocking, knowing how dominant the Sky Blues have been this season. And knowing that a win on Saturday will see City go 13 points clear for at least 24 hours, it is fair to say that Pep Guardiola’s men won’t take this match lightly.
But can Manchester City deliver?
To answer the question above – Yes.
Manchester City has been in phenomenal form this season, and there is a good reason they’re double digits in the clear at the top of the EPL standings. Admittedly, Man City wasn’t too impressive in their last Premier League outing on New Year’s Day, but they still edged past Arsenal 2-1, thanks to Rodri’s stoppage-time goal at the Emirates.
So while you can feel a bit sceptical about City’s showing last time out, we have to remember that it marked their 11th successive Premier League victory, as the team continues a run that has put the Sky Blues within sight of the 4th title in 5 years.
Chelsea, meanwhile, has had some solid showings this season, but they’ve drawn 4 of their last 5 EPL meetings, in 3 of which they conceded at least one goal. That stretch includes a win against Aston Villa (3-1) and draws against Everton (1-1), Wolves (0-0), Brighton (1-1), and Liverpool (2-2).
We have to praise Chelsea for their thrilling performance against Liverpool, in which the Reds led by two goals only 26 minutes in. Still, Chelsea had to face Liverpool without Jurgen Klopp, Alisson Becker, and Roberto Firmino, so we should take their relative success with a grain of salt.
Chelsea is expected to have it much tougher against Manchester City than they did when faced with Liverpool, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of causing some damage.
Looking back at their draw at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea scored twice without Romelu Lukaku, who got dropped by Thomas Tuchel due to comments the Belgian made about his dissatisfaction with the club. But the two have since made up, and it seems Lukaku is back in his top form.
Upon returning to the starting lineup, the former Inter Milan striker helped his side to a 2-0 victory against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup and scored a goal in Chelsea’s thrashing of Chesterfield (5-0) in the FA Cup.
Chelsea has scored 45 goals in the Premier League in 21 outings (2.14 per game) and at least one goal in all but one of their last 5. Meanwhile, Man City put together 53 goals across 21 outings and 20 across their last 5.
That includes seven against Leeds (7-0), four against Newcastle (4-0), six against Leicester (6-3), one against Brentford (1-0), and two against Arsenal (2-1). Featuring 2 of the top EPL teams and such numbers, the upcoming match promises two things – highlights and plenty of goals – which is a perfect recipe for our second Man City v Chelsea prediction.
Chelsea will need all the help they can get to upset Manchester City, and if they manage to do it, it will likely be thanks to Romelu Lukaku. Regardless of his falling out with Chelsea’s boss in December, the Belgian football superstar is the critical man for the Blues, and as he has proven over his career, a goal-scoring machine.
Admittedly, he is far from the top goalscorer in the league, but he has eight goals across 20 fixtures across all competitions and three across his last 3 EPL outings. Unfortunately, he did not produce a goal against Tottenham, but at 8/5, we have to trust Lukaku to add his 6th goal of the 2021/22 EPL season as a part of our Man City vs Chelsea betting tips.
Many sportsIn-play modeLive streaming25+ sportsSuperb bonusesEasy to useVIP programLive gamesMany bonusesMany bonuses24/7 supportMobile appsLive bettingMany sportsFast payoutsManchester City has been showing exceptional form this season, and they can’t be stopped from the looks of it. With 11 successive EPL games won, Man City is already flirting with the club’s 6th Premier League title, and the only question everyone is asking is when will their perfect run end.
City came close to losing their streak last time when they needed stoppage time to edge past 10-man Arsenal. Still, besides that, it has been smooth sailing for Guardiola’s men since they suffered a chock 0-2 loss against Crystal Palace in October.
Since then, City has produced incredible stats and won 14 out of 15 outings, with the only exception being a 1-2 slip-up against RB Leipzig in the Champions League in December.
Even more impressive is that there is no single player to whom we can attribute City’s success. The whole team is playing like a well-oiled machine with a threatening attacking lineup and a solid backline in Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, and Joao Cancelo.
Until proven otherwise, Man City are the Goliaths of the Premier League, and all other teams are David(s). The question is, which team has the sling to take them down?
The situation in the Blue camp hasn’t been too great for the past month with the Lukaku drama and a streak of somewhat iffy showings. And beyond that, Chelsea also got hit by COVID pretty hard.
It could be worse, but it seems like all Chelsea are capable of currently is play draws, having secured 4 in their last five league outings. Chelsea can still score, but they don’t score enough, or they struggle to prevent the other team from finding the back of the net.
Tuchel’s men need to get back on the horse quickly and start finding wins, although it might already be too late. If Chelsea loses on Saturday, they might already be out of the title race, and the team is likely well aware of that.
Now it remains to be seen whether the Blues will want to focus on the Premier League and hope that Manchester City slips enough times to give them a fighting chance for the trophy – or will Chelsea instead focus more on the Champions League? Either way, Chelsea needs to find a way to improve their stats and their current position.
Guardiola did not attend Friday’s 4-1 FA Cup victory at Swindon due to a positive COVID test, while 7 of the starting XI players had to self-isolate ahead of the 3rd-round tie. However, most of the sidelined players, including Phil Foden, are expected to return for the weekend.
Unfortunately, City will miss Riyad Mahrez, who is away with Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations, and Fernandinho and Jack Grealish, who are out with an injury.
Chelsea will be without Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, and Ben Chilwell, who will likely miss the entire 2021/22 season with a knee ligament injury. Moreover, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is on international duty with Senegal, so we can expect Kepa Arrizabalaga to continue between the bars. Thiago Silva is likely to play for Chelsea this weekend.
Manchester City and Chelsea will clash on Saturday, January 15, at Etihad Stadium, in Manchester. The kick-off is scheduled for 12:30 local time (GMT), so don’t forget to set the alarm and mark your calendar so as not to miss this EPL spectacle.
The game will be televised on all major TV channels, including Sky Sport and BT Sport 1. If you instead prefer to watch a live stream, you can rest assured the game will be available on all streaming platforms, as well as on sportsbooks that offer live streaming and live betting on football games.
To conclude our Man City vs Chelsea betting preview, we will add a bonus prediction in Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score. Priced at even odds on most bookies, this is an excellent pick at very generous odds you should take advantage of today before we see them drop.
Prediction: Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score – Evs
With that, our EPL betting preview ends, equipping you with all the information you’ll need to visit your favourite football sportsbook and place a bet on the clash between 2 English football giants.
