Manchester City vs Chelsea EPL; Draw looks the value as Blues head for Citizens

06/05/2021 | Categories: Football betting | Published by: Andy Nelson

Updated: 4th December 2023

2020-21 English Premier League preview: Manchester City vs Chelsea – The Etihad Stadium – Saturday, 8 May 2021, 17:30 hrs. BST

Manchester City vs Chelsea EPL Preview

In what could be billed as the Premier League match of the season, UEFA Champions League finalists for 2020-21, Manchester City and Chelsea will lock horns at the Etihad stadium on Saturday, May 8th.

Man City's last 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on May 1^st meant that a win over Chelsea on Saturday would secure Pep Guardiola's men a third Premier League title in four years.

Despite a gulf of 18 points separating City and Chelsea, May 8th's clash will see two teams on almost equal terms thanks to the latter’s remarkable transformation under Thomas Tuchel who took over reins of a beleaguered Blues side from Frank Lampard in January.

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Chelsea’s last two Premier League outings were wins of 0-1 and 2-0 over West Ham and Fulham respectively, ensuring them a place in the Top four of the League table for the moment with just four fixtures to go.

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Manchester City Premier League form guide: LWWWLWW

Chelsea Premier League form guide: WDLWDWW

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Guardiola could rotate his side from the one that beat PSG on Tuesday night and has almost 4 days of rest before the big home game.

Aymeric Laporte will look to move into the back while Rodri who was dropped against PSG could come in place of Fernandinho.

Joao Cancelo will push for a start, too. Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden being in such spectacular form across all competitions of late, will be automatic starters while the striker's role could be a toss between Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus and the much-ignored Raheem Sterling.

Tuchel, too, could also effect changes to the side that eliminated Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Full-back and captain Cesar Azpilicueta who seemed to be struggling towards the end of the second leg game could well be rested and in such an event pave the way for Kurt Zouma's entry at the back.

Tuchel could contemplate bringing in the back-to-fitness Mateo Kovacic to take the load of N'Golo Kante and Jorginho in the midfield but it is unlikely he would go for such a change just yet. Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, Marcos Alonso and Reece James could all push for starts on Saturday.

Manchester City starting XI in 4-2-3-1 formation: Ederson (goal); Mendy, Laporte, Dias, Cancelo; Gundogan, Rodrigo; Foden, Bruyne, Mahrez; Aguero

Chelsea starting XI in 3-4-2-1 formation: Mendy (goal); Zouma, Thiago Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kante, Alonso; Mount, Pulisic; Havertz

With attacking riches aplenty on both sides, this game could become a see-saw battle. Chelsea's need to win will be greater given that they require to stay in the Top four to qualify for next season's Champions League.

The Blues do not have a good history against their forthcoming opponents having lost four of their previous six encounters against City since 2019.

But the Blues are a transformed side now under Tuchel and managed to beat City 1-0 in a FA Cup tie last month.

While Chelsea under the German have maintained 12 clean sheets from their last 17 League games, City have conceded in each of their last five outings at the Etihad and have lost two of their last three home games.

So, it would be of little surprise if the visitors to the Etihad succeeded in taking points off City on the evening of May 8th.

Only scorelines of 1-1 or 2-2 could do justice to this mouth-watering encounter. In fact, the match could be a much closer affair than what the online bookmakers' odds suggest.