Will the Citizens remain the final opponent for Chelsea?

The first matchday in the Premier League has a real cracker in store on Sunday afternoon. Stamford Bridge will host a rematch of the 2021 Champions League final. While the Blues were predicted to win the final between Chelsea and Manchester City more than three years ago, the Londoners have been waiting for a full success against the English giants ever since. The Citizens have not lost nine head-to-head meetings against their opening opponents in all competitions

The signs for the upcoming match are also relatively clear. The favorites are Pep Guardiola’s team, which is also considered the hottest contender for the PL championship in 2024/25 after winning the title in the previous season. Lower odds are offered for a Chelsea vs Manchester City away win prediction.

Opinions are divided when it comes to Chelsea Football Club. No wonder, because with well over 40 players still in the squad, it remains to be seen how the hardship decisions of the management team and new coach Enzo Maresca will be perceived. In principle, however, there will be no lack of individual quality at the capital city club.

Nevertheless, the odds on the three-way market between Chelsea and Manchester City are pointing towards a three-goal win. The highest odds are currently on offer at Sunmaker. In August 2024, you can still win free bets on your first four (!) deposits at Sunmaker.

Chelsea – Statistics & current form

Passivity is the most you can accuse the decision-makers at Chelsea Football Club of this summer when it comes to departures. While owner Todd Boehly’s team have spent a horrendous sum of well over €100 million again for the second year in a row to strengthen their squad, there are currently very few players being offloaded. There is still a lot of movement in the squad of over 40 professionals. The conditions could definitely be better for new coach Enzo Maresca ahead of the start of the season on Sunday.

The Italian, who led Leicester City to direct promotion back to the Premier League last season, succeeds Mauricio Pochettino, who was relieved of his duties despite a visible development in the second half of the season. Maresca stands for a very active and attacking style of soccer.

His former club scored almost two goals per game in the Championship and were regularly the dominant team – no doubt due to their quality advantage. The 44-year-old now wants to pursue the same approach in the capital. His competitive debut on Sunday could hardly be more special in this respect, because as a former assistant to Pep Guardiola, being allowed to play against his former master straight away naturally holds a certain appeal.

Chelsea’s preparation has exposed serious defensive deficiencies

Admittedly, however, we believe that this highlight home game against the reigning champions may come a little too soon for the Blues’ young squad. At least that’s what the preparation suggests. Especially in defense, the Londoners revealed some deficits.

In four notable test matches against Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Celtic Glasgow, they conceded a whopping eleven goals. Exactly two weeks ago, they were 4-0 down after just under an hour against the Citizens. This is one of the reasons why we prefer the odds on a win for the visitors on the first PL matchday between Chelsea and Manchester City. This is despite the fact that the history of the opening games paints a fundamentally different picture. Since the Premier League was founded, no other club has collected more points on the opening weekend than the Blue & Whites, who finished the previous season in sixth place thanks to just one defeat in the last 15 matchdays.

Predicted Chelsea line-up:

Manchester City – stats & current form

If we’re talking about a decidedly strong opening game, however, Manchester City Football Club must also be mentioned by name. In fact, the Sky Blues have won 12 of their last 13 (!) matches at the start of a new Premier League season.

Equally remarkable is the outstanding run of victories that ultimately led to the Citizens catching their championship rivals on the home straight and winning the title in the elite league in the motherland of soccer for the fourth time in a row. Nine consecutive PL games have been won with at least a two-goal difference. The last three triumphs have all come against opponents from the capital. A good omen for Sunday afternoon?

Can Haaland make the difference again?

Compared to the Blues, not much has changed in terms of personnel for the Himmelblaue in the summer. Savinho, a promising youngster, was signed, but his main purpose is to strengthen the squad. In return, however, Julian Alvarez, a potential top performer, has left the club. In what could be the last season under Pep Guardiola, the industrial city will continue to rely on its functioning collective and footballing dominance with a high share of possession.

Nevertheless, pre-season preparations have not been completely smooth sailing. After three defeats in the first three test matches, there was the aforementioned 4:2 against Chelsea and the successful start to the competitive season in the Community Shield against Manchester United. After a penalty shoot-out, they won 2:1.

In view of these impressions, however, it has to be said that the Citizens have not even come close to fielding their strongest formation so far. That will definitely change on Sunday in London. Erling Haaland, who scored twice in his first two PL seasons on the first matchday, will certainly be in the starting eleven. With 63 goals in 66 PL matches, the Norwegian is a hot scoring tip. Between Chelsea and Manchester City, the betting odds for the ex-Dortmund player to score to give the favorites a 1-0 lead are at a whopping 4.50 in the Bet365 app.

Predicted Manchester City line-up:

Chelsea – Manchester City head-to-head comparison / H2H record

Incidentally, it was the aforementioned Haaland who put City 2-0 ahead in a friendly against Chelsea two weeks ago with two early goals after four and five minutes respectively. At competitive level, the Blues have not been able to score much against the Citizens recently either. Man City have not lost nine meetings against Chelsea in all competitions (7-2-0). In the Premier League alone, there have been six head-to-head meetings without a Chelsea win (0-2-4).

Chelsea – Manchester City betting tip

Two prominent and ambitious clubs will contest the first top match in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

The starting position seems relatively clear before kick-off. City are the favorites, but Chelsea have a broad chest after their strong finish to last season. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how the Blues will perform in their first competitive game under new coach Enzo Maresca. After all, they lost 4-2 to the Citizens in a test match two weeks ago…

Although we generally don’t give much weight to test matches in preparation, there are many other reasons why the pendulum will swing in the champions’ favor this weekend. The automatisms are there, the individual quality and maturity of the individual players also speak in favor of Guardiola’s team.

We therefore recommend betting on an away win between Chelsea and Manchester City, which is offered at maximum odds of 1.84 at Sunmaker. Our stake is six units