Manchester City and Chelsea will go head to head for the 50th time in the Premier League on Saturday with City looking to extend their winning streak in the league to 12 matches.
It’s the fifth meeting between the two sides since Thomas Tuchel arrived in England and all but one of the previous four match-ups have featured just one goal. Bookmaker William Hill has the odds at 3.50 for another game with one or no goals and at 1.91 for under 2.5 goals.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 14th, 12:30 P.M. (EST)
Tuchel won all of the first three meetings with Man City as Chelsea boss, but Pep Guardiola found a way to turn the tide in the series in September. City won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge and didn’t allow a single shot on target. It was a real defensive masterclass and Guardiola will hope to see a repeat of the performance on home turf.
City suffered some shock results at home earlier in the campaign, but they are currently on a seven-game winning run at the Etihad. Their home record against Chelsea is strong as well with eight wins in the past 12 games.
Guardiola continues to find new ways to crush opponents and with City already holding a 10-point lead ahead of the rest of the pack, another Premier League title for the club looks all but wrapped up.
Chelsea are the closest challengers to City and they have lost just one in their last 15 Premier League outings, but the Blues have been very draw-happy and it’s left them with a mountain to climb.
A winning effort at the Etihad could spark a change in the title race, but Chelsea will need to produce a special performance to grab all the points, and they will have to do it without No. 1 goalkeeper Edouard Mendy who has joined Senegal for their Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
Kepa Arrizabalaga will make only his second Premier League appearance of the season and all eyes will be on him after his previous struggles. Following a decent debut year, the €80 million man from Bilbao saw his form fall off a cliff. But he’s looked strong in the few appearances he’s made this season saving over 80 percent of shots faced and keeping five clean sheets in eight games with only five goals conceded.
