After Arsenal’s loss to Bournemouth, the door is wide open for Manchester City. They sit nine points back, but with two games in hand and a massive stretch ahead. Chelsea today, Arsenal on Sunday. The six-pointer in two weeks' time could be the biggest match of the season if they get three today. It’s been a rough run for Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea. Outside of a 7-0 cup win over Port Vale, they had dropped four straight by a combined 11-3 scoreline. City haven’t been the most reliable away from home, but they have won two of their last three. This is a must-win spot with the title race hanging in the balance. Given the circumstances, I absolutely must back Manchester City to win today.
Neither Manchester City or Chelsea are having a particularly great season. Chelsea are sixth on the table, a point behind Liverpool, fighting for a top five spot to qualify for Champions League, while City are nine points behind Arsenal for the EPL title with a game in hand. While both teams are a bit of of best form, head-to-head history is disgustingly in favor of Manchester City. City have played Chelsea 12 times over the last five years, and haven't lost a single time over those 12 years. I know this is a bit juicy for a ML play, but an out of form Chelsea isn't going to come close to beating Manchester City.
Man City should be full of confidence after beating Arsenal 2-0 in the EFL Cup final and thrashing Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup quarterfinals. They're playing with real swagger right now, and they could outclass a struggling Chelsea team this weekend. Chelsea have lost four of their last five games; their sole victory came against third division side Port Vale in the FA Cup. The Chelsea defense looks weak, so Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo could fire the away team to victory here.
