Nation Awaits Chelsea`s Evening Tie With Manchester City

Perhaps the most anticipated match of the day comes at 17:30 this evening as second place Manchester City travel to the league leaders Chelsea looking to reduce the points gap between the two sides from five to two. A victory for Chelsea would, however, see them stretch their lead at the top of the table to eight points with third-placed Southampton being able to close in on the runners-up position with a win at home to Swansea tomorrow. The last time Chelsea and Manchester City met in the Premier League was back in September, the two sides fighting out a 1-1 draw. The first 45 ended goalless at the Etihad before Andre Schurrle put the away side in front. Manuel Pellegrini`s reigning champions shared the spoils, however, when former Blues legend Frank Lampard levelled up for his new club with just over five minutes left to play.

Lampard can be backed at 19/4 (888sport, unibet) to score against his old club again tonight, whilst a correct score prediction of 1-1 will pay out at odds of 13/2 with Betvictor.

In spite of this, it is Chelsea who are the favourites to take all three points from the clash and bolster their Premier League title hopes. The Blues can be picked up at 6/5 at most bookmakers to see of City at Stamford Bridge. Another draw is available at the best price of 5/2 (Stan James) with a win for the away side on offer at 27/10 with betfair.

Chelsea recent home Premier League record is unsurprisingly excellent, picking up the maximum of 15 points from their last five games and not conceding a goal. As a result, a Blues win to nil is being offered at 11/4 by most bookmakers. Jose Mourinho`s men have hit the back of the net 11 times in these five games, the equivalent of two goals a match. They can be backed at 29/10 with Betvictor to score exactly two goals against City.

The club`s top scorer from these last five home matches has been Diego Costa who has contributed exactly one goal in four of these matches. Having scored a total of 17 goals this season since his transfer from Athletico Madrid last summer, the 26-year-old has been a key part of Chelsea`s season so far but is currently serving a three match suspension for stamping on Liverpool`s Emre Can in the second leg of the teams` League Cup semi-final.

Consequentially, more pressure will be on the likes of Eden Hazard, who hit the back of the net three times in the Stamford Bridge outfit`s last five Premier League home games. After hitting the target against West Brom, Spurs and Hull, the Spaniard is available at 8/1 (ladbrokes, paddy Power, william hill) to break the deadlock against City.

With Costa out, could this be the Manchester club`s best chance to secure a victory over the league leaders? The Sky Blues are unbeaten in six on the road in the Premier League, their last defeat away from home being felt against West Ham (2-1) back in October.

From these six games, Pellegrini`s men have hit the back of the net 14 times but have kept only one clean sheet. As a result, 4/5 with a number of bookmakers says that both teams will hit the back of the net at some point.

City`s top scorer from these games is Sergio Aguero who hit two braces, the first in the 2-2 draw with strugglers QPR and the latter in the 4-1 victory over Sunderland. The 19-time scorer is 12/1 with paddy Power to grab his third brace in seven away games at Stamford Bridge tonight.

Go To bet365

#Ad

31/01/2015     © Frixo 2026