70 hours after the PL duel: Will City beat Chelsea again?
In four days, Manchester City and Chelsea will clash for the second time on the island. After the Citizens narrowly prevailed 1-0 with a Riyad Mahrez goal at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Thursday night, the two top teams will now face each other at the Etihad Stadium late on Sunday afternoon at 17:30 in the FA Cup third round.
It is no surprise that the best bookmakers are offering lower odds on Pep Guardiola’s charges ahead of the Manchester City vs Chelsea cup clash.
Although the Blues were able to hold their own in the league match and made a good impression, especially defensively, it can be assumed that the Sky Blues will now put in an even more dominant performance in front of their home crowd. Regardless of which players are deployed
In order to make a suitable Manchester City vs Chelsea prediction, it must also be taken into account that the home side will need to conserve their energy somewhat, given their busy schedule and the demanding tasks ahead.
Both coaches will be making tactical and personnel adjustments just over 70 hours after the last meeting, so we can look forward to an interesting match. In what will be the third clash of the season between City and the Blues, it could be the Citizens’ third win of the campaign.
Manchester City – Statistics & current form
Pep Guardiola has always been a perfectionist. A coach who has been able to implement his way of playing football in all his teams and has enjoyed great success as a result. In England, there is no title that the Catalan has not yet won with Manchester City. Four league titles are matched by four League Cup victories and two Community Shields. However, the former Bayern coach has only managed to lift the FA Cup once so far.
But anyone who has got to know Pep in recent years knows that the ex-professional with a love of detail has made it his mission to win all possible titles several times over. It is not for nothing that the reigning champions are considered by the bookmakers to be the hottest contenders for the FA Cup trophy. However, they will have to overcome a complicated hurdle in the form of Chelsea right from the start.
Manchester City want to continue dancing at all weddings
The task against the Blues is also not to be underestimated in that this encounter comes at a time when the players have little time for regeneration. Since the re-start just before Christmas, it is already the fifth competitive match that the Citizens have played. They have won three and drawn one. As a result, the gap to leaders Arsenal in the Premier League standings has been reduced to five points.
Now the aforementioned clash in the world’s oldest cup competition is on the agenda and although City will be challenged again next week in the League Cup and then in the league against city rivals Manchester United, we expect the odds on a home win between Manchester City and Chelsea to prove true. The form curves have been too different recently, and the Sky Blues are usually too dominant in their own stadium.
Even a total rotation in the starting eleven should not prevent the 2019 Cup winners from living up to their role as favourites and advancing to the next round. Incidentally, 2011/12 was the last time City lost in round three of the FA Cup. In the past four seasons, they have always gone at least as far as the semi-finals. In two of the last seven seasons, however, they were eliminated against their upcoming opponents from London…
Predicted Manchester City line-up:
Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Cancelo; Gundogan, Phillips, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Alvarez, Grealish
Last matches played by Manchester City:
Premier League
06/01/2023 – Chelsea FC 0 – 1 Manchester City
31/12/2022 – Manchester City 1 – 1 Everton
29/12/2022 – Leeds 1 – 3 Manchester City
Carabao Cup
23/12/2022 – Manchester City 3 – 2 Liverpool FC
Friendly club matches
17/12/2022 – Manchester City 2 – 0 Girona
Chelsea – Statistics & current form
A few months after the change of coach from Thomas Tuchel to Graham Potter, Chelsea Football Club are still in a bad way. Initially, it seemed as if the owners’ controversial decision to sack the German coach was the right one, but now the number of critical voices is increasing.
No wonder, because the Blues have lost four of their last six games. Only the home game at the re-start against Bournemouth was won 2-0, although Kai Havertz and Co. did not leave a particularly glamorous impression against the Cherries either.
Chelsea continue to have big problems away from home
A disappointing 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest was followed by the aforementioned 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, which has seen the capital club drop to tenth in the table. The gap to the first Champions League place is a staggering ten points.
In view of these recent poor results, we are far from making a prediction on the guest between Manchester City and Chelsea. While it cannot be ruled out that the Londoners show a different face in the FA Cup than in the Premier League, we lack a little faith after the performances shown. The balance between offence and defence is not right. Many players are far behind their top form.
To make matters worse, there is still a marked discrepancy between performances at home and away. The last away game at an English club was won on 16 October. However, only two points have been taken from the last four PL matches. Among others, there were defeats against Newcastle (0:1) and Brighton (1:4). On Sunday, they go to the Citizens, who represent a different calibre and should therefore present the Potter team with hardly solvable tasks.
Predicted Chelsea line-up:
Kepa; Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Koulibaly, Cucurella; Jorginho, Zakaria, Chukwuemeka; Ziyech, Havertz, Aubameyang
Last matches played by Chelsea:
Premier League
06/01/2023 – Chelsea FC 0 – 1 Manchester City
01/01/2023 – Nottingham Forest 1 – 1 Chelsea FC
28/12/2022 – Chelsea FC 2 – 0 Bournemouth
Club Friendlies
11/12/2022 – Chelsea FC 0 – 1 Aston Villa
Premier League
13/11/2022 – Newcastle 1 – 0 FC Chelsea
Manchester City – Chelsea Direct comparison / H2H record
This is the third time the two teams have met in the current season. Manchester City won 2-0 in the League Cup, while the reigning champions prevailed 1-0 in the Premier League on Thursday. The Blues are therefore still waiting for the first goal and the first real sense of achievement against the Citizens in 2022/23.
In general, there is a clear trend in favour of the Sky Blues, who have won eight of the last ten matches in the league alone. It is also interesting to note that in the last five direct duels, the 2.5 goal mark has never been exceeded. It is therefore also conceivable to combine the odds on the home win with the under 3.5/4.5 in the FA Cup match Manchester City vs Chelsea.
Manchester City – Chelsea Tip
We definitely cannot complain about too few highlights at the start of the 2023 sporting year. Especially in English football, things are heating up. The top teams are currently being challenged in a three-day rhythm. The hunt for a date comes to a head with the clash between Manchester City and Chelsea. Within 70 hours, these teams will meet for the second time in a row on Sunday afternoon.
After the 1-0 win in the Premier League, the betting odds are also clearly in favour of the Citizens in the FA Cup between Manchester City and Chelsea. The 2019 Cup winners are currently one or two steps above the Blues in terms of form. The Londoners have lost four of their last six competitive games and have shown major deficiencies, especially defensively.
With Manchester City’s third-round match against Chelsea coming up, we’re going for a home win combined with the under 4.5 odds, which is also supported by the recent head-to-head, as none of the last five head-to-head matches resulted in more than two goals. Given the additional rotation of personnel on both goals, however, we once again do not believe in a goal spectacle.
