Chelsea vs Man City prediction, betting tips and odds: Blues could frustrate slow-starting champions

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Where to watch Chelsea vs Man City

You can watch Chelsea vs Man City in the Premier League at 4.30pm on Sunday, August 18, live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event

Match prediction & best bet

Chelsea or draw double chance
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Chelsea vs Man City odds

Chelsea 3-1
Man City 17-20
Draw 3-1

Odds correct at time of publishing

Chelsea vs Man City predictions

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and his former assistant Enzo Maresca both won league titles last season and they face each other in an intriguing Premier League opener at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

While Guardiola was delivering a fourth straight top-flight title, and a sixth in seven seasons, Maresca steered Leicester to top spot in the Championship.

Anything less than automatic promotion would have been regarded as a failure given the strength of the Foxes' squad but Chelsea were impressed enough to appoint Maresca as Mauricio Pochettino's successor at Stamford Bridge.

Despite a bloated squad, the Blues continue to gorge themselves in the transfer market, signing Wolves winger Pedro Neto and being heavily linked with Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.

There will be fierce competition for places on the Chelsea bench, never mind in Maresca's first 11, so another inconsistent campaign is expected.

However, facing City on the opening weekend of the season could benefit the Blues, who won ten of their last 12 home matches under Pochettino and are worth backing to avoid defeat.

Even before that run, the Blues had drawn 2-2 with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, letting slip a 2-0 lead late on, and shared a 4-4 draw with the Citizens.

Cole Palmer, signed from City last summer, converted a 95th-minute penalty to earn a point – one of many highlights in his scintillating season for club and country.

With Palmer and Neto on the flanks and Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku or impressive Spanish teenager Marc Guiu leading the line, Chelsea should be confident of troubling City's defence again.

The champions have England Euro 2024 finalists Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker available after they missed last weekend's Community Shield penalty-shootout win over Manchester United.

But key man Rodri, player of the tournament at the Euros, misses the trip to west London and Guardiola's attacking options are limited by the sale of Julian Alvarez to Atletico and Oscar Bobb's untimely injury.

The visitors could still line up with creative players of the calibre of Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva feeding Erling Haaland, who is bidding for a hat-trick of Premier League Golden Boots.

City tend to take time to get into their stride at the start of the season, however, so they are worth opposing at the prices despite the uncertainty over how Chelsea will line up.

Guardiola's men were ruthless against the weaker teams in the division last season but won only two of their ten matches against the rest of the top six and were outplayed by United in a shock 2-1 defeat in the FA Cup final.

Chelsea won their last five home matches under Pochettino, scoring 19 goals, and that run included victories over United and Tottenham.

They kicked off last season with a bright display in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool and are capable of producing a similar performance against City.

Key stat

Chelsea have won ten of their last 12 Premier League home matches

Chelsea vs Man City team news

Chelsea
Captain Reece James is out with a hamstring injury although he would have been suspended for this fixture anyway. Robert Sanchez is set to start in goal but Conor Gallagher, who is expected to leave the club, will not feature.

Man City
Oscar Bobb has joined Rodri on the sidelines. England internationals Kyle Walker, Phil Foden and John Stones should be available but Kalvin Phillips has completed a loan move to Ipswich.

Probable teams

Chelsea (4-3-3): Sanchez; Gusto, W Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Lavia, Caicedo; Palmer, Nkunku, Neto
Subs: Sterling, Jackson, Chilwell, Badiashile, Disasi, Madueke, Guiu

Man City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Silva, Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland
Subs: Savinho, Grealish, Lewis, Stones, Dias, O'Reilly, Nunes

Inside info

Chelsea

Star man Cole Palmer
Top scorer Cole Palmer
Penalty taker Cole Palmer
Card magnet Moises Caicedo
Assist ace Cole Palmer
Set-piece aerial threat Wesley Fofana

Man City

Star man Kevin De Bruyne
Top scorer Erling Haaland
Penalty taker Erling Haaland
Card magnet Mateo Kovacic
Assist ace Kevin De Bruyne
Set-piece aerial threat Josko Gvardiol

Chelsea vs Man City bet builder predictions

Chelsea or draw double chance
The Blues drew both of last season's meetings with Manchester City, who are missing influential midfielder Rodri for their opener

Cole Palmer to score at any time
The prolific Chelsea forward scored England's goal in the Euro 2024 final and poses a major threat to his former club at Stamford Bridge

Romeo Lavia to be shown a card
The Chelsea midfielder, cautioned nine times in 26 Premier League starts for Southampton in 2022-23, may take time to get up to speed after a long injury layoff

Pays out at 11-1 with Hills

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