Man City host Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s side will secure the league title with a win and they’re one match away from lifting the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup for a treble. The Blues have nothing to play for and will hope to avoid being humiliated in this match.
Man City Form
City are in extraordinary form right now. They’re 23 matches in all competitions with losing and they will win the title by making it 12 wins in a row against Chelsea. They’ve been in control of their own destiny in the title race since beating Arsenal 4-1 at home in a top performance. Even if they’ve cruised to recent wins without blowing teams away, they’ve always been in total control.
After a 2-1 win against Leeds, they made no subs in a determined performance to draw 1-1 at Real Madrid. A trip to Everton looked like a potential banana skin but they made light work of their opponents in a 3-0 victory. In midweek, they reached the Champions League final after crushing Real Madrid 4-0 at home. It was a truly outstanding performance, putting them one win from European glory.
Man City Team News
Once again, it’s just one injury for Pep Guardiola to deal with. Nathan Ake is set to be missing again at the back. With the title on the line, it could be an unchanged XI from midweek in this one. Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden would remain amongst the substitutes despite good impacts in midweek.
If City does make any changes, the most likely player to get a rest is Kevin De Bruyne. Guardiola will want to make sure that he is fully fit for the Champions League final in three weeks, so he won’t risk any injury. Riyad Mahrez is most likely to come into the XI in that case.
Man City Motivation
The motivation to win this match will be very high. Confidence in the squad is through the roof right now. They will want to secure the league title in front of their fans and not delay it.
City will look to dominate and attack, but they may not drive home any advantage to save some legs after their demanding Champions League semi-final win.
Chelsea Form
It’s been an awful season for the Blues. They sit 11th in the table and realistically can’t finish any higher. They could finish as low as 14th place though considering their run-in has Man City, Man Utd, and Newcastle ahead. After a run of one win in 11, they won three in a row back in March. Since then, it’s been one win in 11 matches in all competitions.
Frank Lampard lost his first six matches in charge, including twice to Real Madrid and 3-1 away at Arsenal. Home defeats to Brighton and Brentford were also alarming results and performances. After the Arsenal defeat, they finally won 3-1 at Bournemouth. Last weekend, they fought back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 but conceded an equaliser in a 2-2 draw with the league’s worst away side, Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea Team News
Frank Lampard is still without Reece James, Ben Chilwell, and Mason Mount. N’Golo Kante was injured before the Nottingham Forest match and will miss out. Mateo Kovacic went off injured in the first half of that match and is another who is set to be absent.
Wesley Fofana and Kepa could return to the starting XI. Kai Havertz should be preferred to Joao Felix up front. Kalidou Koulibaly is fit again and could feature. With Marc Cucurella absent at left-back too, it could be Lewis Hall in that role again.
Chelsea Motivation
The Blues will play defensively in this match and try to eke out a point. Even avoiding a heavy defeat would be acceptable in this one.
Chelsea have nothing to play for but both coach Frank Lampard and the players would probably shake hands on a 2-0 defeat right now.
Key Stats
Manchester City have won their last 11 league matches.
Manchester City’s last 8 EPL games have seen over 2.5 goals.
City have kept 5 clean sheets in a row against Chelsea
Chelsea have won 1 of their last 11 matches (all competitions)
Chelsea have won just 2 of their last 15 away matches
Chelsea have lost their last 3 games away to Man City without scoring
Verdict
There is only one winner in this match. City will seal the title and could hand the Blues a heavy defeat. Backing the hosts on the spread and the win-to-zero market looks like the way to go.
Best Bet: Man City Win to Zero at 2.05
Alternative Bet: Man City Win (-2 spread) at 2.70
Goalscorer Tip: Haaland to score 2 or more goals at 2.85
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