Manchester City are hoping to capitalise on Arsenal's slip against Newcastle to close the gap at the top of the Premier League table when they travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea.
The Blues have won one of their last eight top-flight matches and look ripe for the taking as City arrive amid a title battle. Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland could be Chelsea's grim reaper, running away with the Golden Boot race in record-setting fashion.
LIVE: Follow the latest updates from Chelsea vs Manchester City
Chelsea will start the game 10th in the Premier League table and need a revival badly. A result against Pep Guardiola's side could be the signature result needed, but it will likely require an excellent performance to achieve that – something Chelsea have arguably not produced since October.
With both sides desperate for points in a showcase match, here's a closer look at how the 90 minutes in London could play out.
MORE: Premier League top goal scorers as Erling Haaland chases league records
Chelsea vs Man City odds
Despite the heavyweight nature of this match, it features quite a one-sided odds sheet – and for good reason. Chelsea have collected only six of the past 24 points available to them, while City are title contenders, although claiming a solitary point from the visits of Everton and Brentford in two of their last three matches has left them eight points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.
This game should still feature goals, as both teams have shown an ability to score – especially the visitors, who have the in-form duo of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez available in attack.
Odds via BetMGM (USA), Sports Interaction (Canada), SkyBet (UK), and Ladbrokes (Australia).
| BetMGM | Sports Interaction | SkyBet | Ladbrokes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea win | +340 | 4.82 | 9/2 | 17/4 |
| Draw | +280 | 4.05 | 3/1 | 29/10 |
| Man City win | -135 | 1.62 | 3/5 | 8/13 |
| Both teams to score Y / N | -145 / -100 | 1.66 / 1.97 | 8/11, 1/1 | 3/4, 1/1 |
| Over / Under 2.5 goals | -140 / +100 | 1.73 / 2.07 | 8/11, 1/1 | 8/11, 21/20 |
| Man City -0.5 | -145 | 1.61 | — | — |
| Chelsea +0.5 | +100 | 2.28 | — | — |
Chelsea vs Man City: three things to know
Chelsea vs Man City team news
There are a host of injuries for Chelsea to work around. N'Golo Kante remains sidelined by a hamstring issue and Ben Chilwell is out with a similar problem, while Mason Mount misses the game after suffering an injury in training.
Reece James is also out with the knee injury that kept him from participating in the World Cup, as is Wesley Fofana, while Edouard Mendy is dealing with a shoulder issue. Full-back issues are especially limiting for Graham Potter, who looks to be going with Christian Pulisic and Marc Cucurella in wide roles against City.
Man City are dealing with a double injury problem for centre-backs Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte, leaving John Stones and Nathan Ake as centre-backs. Otherwise, Guardiola has a full squad to pick from. Joao Cancelo, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden return after their post-World Cup rest.
MORE: Updated Premier League table with title, Champions League, and relegation race breakdowns
Chelsea vs Man City key stats
- Chelsea (20 goals) are one of nine Premier League teams that Erling Haaland (21 goals) has outscored on his own so far this season.
- City have beaten Chelsea in two straight league matches, and could claim three successive victory over the Blues for the first time since 2010.
- Pep Guardiola has lost just seven of 34 Premier League visits to the city of London, with all of those defeats coming against either Chelsea or Tottenham.
Chelsea vs Man City match facts
- Date: Thursday, January 5
- Kickoff Time: 3:00 pm ET / 8:00 pm GMT / 7:00 am AEDT (Fri, Jan. 6)
- Location: Stamford Bridge, London, England
- Official: Paul Tierney
Chelsea vs Man City prediction
- Moneyline lean: Man City (-160)
- Against the spread lean: Man City -0.5 (-185)
- Score prediction: Chelsea 1-3 Man City
There's very little positivity for Chelsea coming into this match. Since the start of November, the Blues have just four total points through six matches, with Potter under pressure despite only being appointed in September.
What's worse is that Guardiola has owned both Chelsea and Graham Potter of late. Man City beat Chelsea 2-0 in the EFL Cup in early November, and they glided to a 1-0 victory a year ago in their final meeting of last season. Potter did quite well during his time at Brighton in challenging the top Premier League clubs, but he suffered against City, with just one win and seven defeats in eight total matches.
There's little to suggest the Blues can turn all that around on Thursday, especially against a white-hot Haaland, who continues to score in bunches.
MORE: Chelsea vs. Man City predicted lineups for Premier League match
Chelsea vs Man City: best bet
- Pick: Both teams to score
- Odds: -130 (BetMGM)
There's little doubt that City will find the back of the net in this match, but there's still good value in expecting Chelsea to score as well.
City's defensive capabilities this season have slumped and, while they have six clean sheets on the season, they have just one since mid-October. The teams they have kept clean sheets against are West Ham, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Southampton and Leicester City.
Chelsea's chance-creation remains spotty at best, but with City conceding on a regular basis of late, and the duo of Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling starting to show signs of improvement, there's reason to believe the Blues can score a consolation during a likely defeat.
Chelsea vs Man City prop bet
- Pick: Erling Haaland anytime goalscorer
- Odds: -125 (FanDuel)
Haaland has played in 15 Premier League matches this season. He has failed to score in three of those. Are you kidding me?
This is an obvious low-hanging fruit but, at -125, there is clear value. Chelsea have conceded 23.29 xG this season, making them lucky not to have conceded more than the 18 times they have. Haaland should feast in this game.
Chelsea vs Man City prop bet
- Pick: Kevin De Bruyne to score or assist
- Odds: -135 (FanDuel)
Another player who should enjoy this match is Kevin De Bruyne, who has been prolific against Chelsea in recent history. De Bruyne has scored a goal in four of his last five Premier League appearances against the Blues, adding an assist as well.
The Belgian was poor at the World Cup but has immediately rediscovered form at his club, putting up 0.37 xG and 1.36 xA in the two matches since returning from Qatar. He's due for an assist, and this is a game he should thrive in.
Chelsea vs Man City flier bet
- Pick: Promoted parlay — Man City HT/FT result, Ilkay Gundogan anytime goalscorer, over 3.5 goals
- Odds: +900 (BetMGM)
This is an excellent parlay that BetMGM is promoting for this match. With Man City expected to win and the goals likely to flow, the toughest leg of this acca is Ilkay Gundogan finding the back of the net.
It might be scary seeing that he only has two goals this season so far in Premier League play but, if anyone on the team is due, it's the Germany midfielder. He scored last in two straight matches against Bournemouth and Newcastle in late August — since then, Gundogan has ripped off 19 shots, worth 1.88 xG, with eight of those shots and 1.40 xG coming in his last three matches.
Gundogan also has two goals in his last six Premier League appearances against Chelsea. At 9/1 odds, this provides exceptional value.
Chelsea vs Man City live stream, TV channel
MORE: Watch Premier League matches live with fuboTV in USA
MORE: Watch Chelsea vs Man City match live with fuboTV in Canada
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | — | Peacock |
| Canada | — | fuboTV |
| UK | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League | Sky Sports |
| Australia | Optus Sport 1 | Optus Sport |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport Premier League | Sky Sports |
| India | Star Sports Select 1 | Hotstar VIP, JioTV |
| Hong Kong | — | Now E |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport 3 | Astro Go, sooka |
| Singapore | 221 Hub Premier 1, 222 Hub Premier 2 | StarHub TV+ |
