PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker looks ahead to the cracking Premier League fixtures on Thursday between CHELSEA v MAN CITY with match preview, FACTMAN stats and a recommended BETDAQ bet.
CHELSEA V MANCHESTER CITY
8pm We have a huge game on Thursday night on BETDAQ Betting Exchange as Chelsea host Manchester City. We finish the hectic New Year period with a cracker as we go into the FA Cup at the weekend, followed by the League Cup next week. Both sides come into this game after disappointing results over the New Year period with Manchester City drawing 1-1 with Everton on New Year’s Eve followed by Chelsea drawing 1-1 with Nottingham Forest on New Year’s Day. City will come into the game as the odds on favourites – currently trading 1.69 at the time of writing – but we have an absolutely fascinating situation here.
It’s fair to say that both clubs are under pressure. Chelsea face massive questions this season now they sit down in mid-table, and one wonders whether or not sacking Thomas Tuchel was the right thing to do now. It was a very surprising decision at the time, and it’s clear that the Chelsea performances haven’t improved since. Graham Potter is an excellent manager, and he had to take the chance at managing a Champions League side, but one wonders whether or not he would have been better staying at Brighton now. Surely if Chelsea don’t turn things around quickly, he will be under pressure!
Pep Guardiola is also a man under pressure, but for different reasons. He’s not doubting his job, but his side went seven points behind Arsenal after dropping further points against Everton. Not many were taking the Arsenal “title Challenge” seriously over the first few weeks, but they are now. We’re close to the stage where Manchester City will be relying on Arsenal to slip up somewhere. Everyone is waiting for that in fairness, but Arsenal do look like they have a backbone this season.
Although City had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Everton, they were very unlucky – as you would imagine really. There’s a huge gulf in class between the sides, and the best hope for Everton was to sit back and hope for a result. They got one, finishing the game with an xG of just 0.09 and conceding 2.32. City should have won, but they didn’t take their chances. City have dropped a lot of sloppy points this season, as their performances have been top notch. They have dropped points, like New Year’s Eve, when they shouldn’t have.
When you look at the stats here there is only one winner in my opinion. Chelsea have been very poor this season, and Potter hasn’t improved their performances either. They are conceding more chances than they are creating, and that’s unacceptable for a club like Chelsea. An average xG created of just 1.3 is poor for a top club, but conceding an average of 1.5 is probably worse. City’s average xG going forward is 2.3, and they are going to get loads of chances here. I can only see a one way traffic win, and I’m happy to have a Max Bet on City at 1.69. We’ve had a great run with the Max Bet’s over the New Year, and hopefully we can continue!
The Striker Says:
Five points win Manchester City to beat Chelsea at 1.69 on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/CheMci
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● Chelsea have lost their last two Premier League home games against Man City – only against Blackburn (1993-94 to 1995-96) and Arsenal (2020-21 to 2022-23) have they lost three in a row at Stamford Bridge.
● Manchester City did the Premier League double over Chelsea last season – only once have they won three in a row against the Blues in the competition (December 2009 to September 2010).
● Manchester City have won seven of their last 10 Premier League games against Chelsea (L3), as many as they had in their previous 25 against the Blues (D4 L14).
● Pep Guardiola has lost just seven of his 34 Premier League games in London as Man City manager (W22 D5), with these seven defeats coming against either Chelsea (3) or Tottenham Hotspur (4).
● Manchester City have won their first Premier League game in each of the last 10 calendar years, since a 1-0 loss at Sunderland in 2012. Their first league game in each of the last two years has come in London (3-1 vs Chelsea in 2021, 2-1 vs Arsenal in 2022).
● Chelsea have lost just one of their last 11 Premier League home games (W6 D4), with their 1-0 defeat against Arsenal in November the only time they’ve failed to score in their last 23 league games at Stamford Bridge.
● Manchester City have only lost one of their last 25 away Premier League matches (W18 D6), losing 1-0 to Liverpool in October. They are looking to win three away games in a row for the first time since April/May 2022, the second win of which was away at Leeds.
● Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling scored 91 goals in 225 Premier League appearances for Manchester City between 2015 and 2022. Before he joined the club, he was involved in four goals in his last four appearances against the Citizens in the Premier League (1 goal, 3 assists with Liverpool).
● Erling Haaland has seven goals in his six away Premier League appearances for Man City, netting twice in London in August against West Ham. Only two players have scored more than one goal in their first two away Premier League appearances in London – Mark Robins in 1992 (for Norwich vs Arsenal and Chelsea) and Michu in 2012 (for Swansea vs QPR and Arsenal).
● Man City boss Pep Guardiola has suffered eight defeats against Chelsea as a manager in all competitions, his joint-most against an opponent (also eight vs Liverpool). He has, however, won his last three against them without conceding a goal, including a 2-0 win over them in the League Cup in November.
