Chelsea at Manchester City Predictions and Odds Jan 15

Chelsea at Manchester City Betting Preview

WagerTalk soccer handicapper Nick Borrman offers his thoughts on Saturday’s Chelsea at Manchester City showdown in the Premier League. These two teams sit atop of the Premier League setting this matchup to be a classic mid-season battle!

Stay on top of the latest Soccer updates direct from Las Vegas!

Saturday, Jan 15	Premier League Betting Notes
Manchester City:	-110
Chelsea:	+320
Draw:	+250
Total:	2.5 Goals
Game Time:	7:30AM ET / 4:30AM PT at Etihad Stadium

No Stopping The Cityzens

Manchester City easily won their FA Cup match against low level Swindon last weekend for their seventh straight win. Since the calendar turned to November, Manchester City have been nearly unbeatable with 14 wins and just one loss which came against RB Leipzig in their final Champions League group stage match that literally meant nothing for City as they had already clinched the group.

Manchester City seemingly have already locked up the league title but if the rest of the league has even a remote chance, it starts with Chelsea winning this game. The problem is City have been utterly dominant in every metric. They lead the league with 17 wins in 21 matches with a +40 goal differential, both scoring the most goals while allowing the fewest. Liverpool have a slight edge in shots per game at 19.0, but City are just behind at 18.6 while leading shots on goal at 6.8 per game. Defensively, they are far superior to any other team in the Big 5 European Leagues allowing just 6.7 shots per game with 2.3 on goal while playing in the best league in the world. Finally, City lead the league with a +1.80 xG (expected goal) differential thanks to allowing just 0.65 xGA per game.

However, Chelsea have been one team that has played City rather tough. The Blues have won three of the last four meetings in all competitions while City have just four wins in the last ten H2H clashes.

Chelsea is Tough to Beat

The reigning Champions League holders have not been quite as dominant as Manchester City, however, they just don’t lose very often. They are unbeaten in their last ten games in all competitions, but they have settled for five draws to go along with five wins. Going back even further, Chelsea have just one loss in their last 23 games dating back to the end of September.

Chelsea was hit with a pretty bad bout of COVID a few weeks back but it appears that is all behind them as they don’t have any players currently on the COVID list. However, they do have a couple of injuries they are still dealing with, mainly on defense with Chilwell, Reece and Silva all expected to miss the match. The good news is it appears the distraction with Lukaku has blown over as he has been back in the lineup the last two games.

For the season, Chelsea have been fantastic as well and are basically ranked 3rd in every category (behind Liverpool as #2) starting with their xG differential of +0.95 per game thanks to a defense allowing only 0.98 xGA. They allow just 9.5 shots per game with 3.5 on goal while generating 15.2 with 5.6 on goal, all ranking as the 3rd best in the league.

Chelsea at Manchester City Prediction

While both teams clearly have a lot of offensive firepower, it’s their defenses that have separated them from the rest of the league. Defense has also controlled much of their recent H2H history. In the last 13 meetings between these teams in all competitions dating back to 2017, the Under has cashed eight times including the first meeting this season, a 1-0 Manchester City win that saw Chelsea fail to put a single shot on goal and generate just 0.19 xG. It’s also worth noting that of the five games that did finish Over the total, three of them landed on exactly three goals which would only be a half-loss on an Under 2.75 wager.

Bottom line, even with a few absences on the Chelsea side, defense should control this game as both teams know one goal could likely decide the match. TAKE UNDER 2.75 GOALS

Interested in placing a bet on Saturday’s Chelsea at Manchester City contest? BetMGM is offering a $1,000 Risk-Free Bet for first-time bettors in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Washington DC, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arizona and Louisiana.

Soccer Betting Tips

New to betting on soccer? Carmine Bianco, Nick Borrman, Kevin Dolan and Pavlos Laguretos discuss some useful soccer betting strategies and predictions for this weekend.

Soccer Betting Guide

What’s the difference between the two-way and three-way line in soccer betting? What does the Asian handicap mean? If the game ends in a draw, do you get your money back? Check out our Soccer Betting Guide to become more familiar with the nuances of betting on soccer.

**************************************************

Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?

• Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: Vegas lines updated in real time, including who the public is betting on.
• Last Minute Handicapping Advice: Check out our extensive library of handicapping tips and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our sports betting tips video library)
• Want an expert opinion? Check out the latest Free Sports Picks and Best Bets from our team of expert sports handicappers.

Make sure to bookmark all the above!