Premier League fourth plays second at Stamford Bridge on Thursday (3.15pm ET) with both teams looking to cement their Champions League places. For Manchester City, the question of UCL football is still in the balance but Pep Guardiola’s men are very much the form unit upon the EPL’s return.
Two games have yielded eight goals with none conceded but this trip to West London will provide a stiffer test. Chelsea have played just once since the restart but a 2-1 win away to Aston Villa suggests this could be a tight 90 minutes.
CFC vs MCFC Moneyline Odds
The U.S. top rated online sportsbooks don’t subscribe to our theory and, after those two recent wins, Manchester City are hot favorites to take all three points here. Pep’s men dip under the +100 (evens) mark and, while they deserve to head the moneyline betting lines, those odds may look a little short. The oddsmakers can’t split the remaining two options with the draw and the home win listed at +300 (3/1) in places.
Chelsea won at the weekend but weren’t always convincing as they came from a goal behind against relegation-threatened Villa. The benefit of home advantage may be negated by the lack of supporters but Frank Lampard’s men will offer a stiff test and there could well be some value in taking either Chelsea or the draw this time.
Prop Bets To Consider
Before committing to the match result, let’s take a look at some of this week’s props: Manchester City’s five goals against Burnley all came from midfield with Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and David Silva all on target and we should consider each of those names in the individual goal scoring markets.
The forwards lead the way, however, with Man City’s Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus listed as favorites to open the scoring. Raheem Sterling follows and, after breaking a long drought in the 3-0 win over Arsenal, we think the England winger is one to watch.
Chelsea’s first representative in this market is leading scorer Tammy Abraham while there are some longer priced options from midfield on both sides. The City trio of Mahrez, Silva and Foden are joined by Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The Both Teams to Score (BTTS) bet should certainly attract some interest this week even if the odds are predictably short. Manchester City have scored those eight goals in their last two matches while Chelsea have found the net on 10 occasions in their four previous games.
BTTS could be one of the more likely prop bets of the evening and the Total Goals betting will also be active in the lead up to kick off. Betting Over the 2.5 line would return modest odds but for prices that start with a + (ie: odds-against), we need to push to Over 3.5.
It may not be a prolific night in front of goal and with two strong sides in both attack and defense, USAbetting is looking towards a low scoring draw. With that in mind, a 1-1 finish in the Correct Score betting is one to consider even if this is the ‘favorite’ at around +700 (7/1). Alternatively, taking a 2-1 win in favor of either side would produce more interesting profits – particularly if Chelsea were to convert at +1300 (13/1).
Our Preview’s Chelsea v Manchester City Predictions & Betting Picks Verdict
If there is to be a winner in this game, it may be by the tightest of margins. One goal should be enough and that’s a pointer when looking at the Winning Margin prop bet. When the teams met at the Etihad in the reverse fixture in November, Man City came through by two goals to one and that’s another strong indicator for Thursday’s return.
This Chelsea vs Man City preview is looking at the draw for one of our advised predictions. While Manchester City are the form team in the Premier League, they have played two weaker sides in Arsenal and Burnley, who were struggling for form and fitness. It is also worth remembering that Man City have had to negotiate a packed fixture schedule while Chelsea have played just once since the EPL returned on June 17.
Away from the moneyline markets, Both Teams to Score should still be a strong option even if the goal feast that is expected by some doesn’t actually materialize. BTTS is at odds-on but it is a wager that balances the slightly longer punts that we have taken elsewhere.
The final pick is for Raheem Sterling to score in 90 minutes. Much has been made of the winger’s lengthy goal drought but the England international has been a prolific source of goals for Man City over the past two seasons. Sterling has found the net 21 times in 40 games for his club so far in this campaign and USAbetting is backing him to notch at least one more in this Premier League match.
Expect Chelsea vs Manchester City to be tight and tense and look for these three picks to translate into a profitable 90 minutes. So here are our CFC vs MCFC predictions:
- Bet the draw @ clearly the best odds of +310 with 5Dimes.
- Expect Raheem Sterling to score at any time @ biggest odds of +150 with Bovada or BetOnline.
- Go with both teams to score (BTTS) @ -160 with Bovada or BetOnline. It is a similar -161 with Intertops.
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.