Chelsea vs Lyon
The ICC 2018 comes to London this week as Chelsea host Olympique Lyonnais of France.
With respect to the organisers of the competition, this is of far more use to Chelsea as a warm-up for their Premier League opener four days later than as a bid to move up the ICC standings.
SBOBET fans will certainly be interested to see what develops as new coach Maurizio Sarri takes charge of his first game at Stamford Bridge.
Talking Points
ICC 2018 results so far mean Lyon have a chance of winning the tournament, and they have largely enjoyed pre-season so far.
A 3-1 reverse at Huddersfield aside – ironically Chelsea’s first Premier League opponents – Lyon have emphatically despatched Fulham, edged out Wolfsburg and defeated Benfica in their ICC opener.
Chelsea were beaten by Arsenal in a penalty shoot-out in their previous ICC encounter – they had seen off Inter Milan the same way in the first match of the tournament – but it’s been a largely encouraging start to Sarri’s tenure with 17-year-old winger Callum Hudson-Odoi catching the eye in the Arsenal match.
It’s also likely Sarri will offer chances to the likes of Hudson-Odoi to face Lyon, who finished third in Ligue 1 last season.
That probably means opportunities too for the likes of Ross Barkley – a January signing from Everton who is yet to properly figure – Danny Drinkwater and David Luiz who all had scant opportunities under Antonio Conte last term.
New signing Jorginho is also one to watch after he moved across from Napoli days after Sarri’s appointment was announced.
Remember the squad Sarri has inherited still contains most of the players who led the club to Premier League and FA Cup success over the past two years.
Indeed, if the futures of star men like Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois can be secured, Chelsea will be tipped to challenge for the top prizes once again.
Under Conte, Chelsea cruised to the title in 2016/17, albeit with many of Jose Mourinho’s signings and without the added distraction of a European campaign.
When European commitments were on the horizon last season, Conte’s team struggled to juggle both as they finished a well adrift fifth in the table – although still ended the season with silverware.
Now Sarri takes on a side without Champions League football but with a potentially demanding Europa League campaign ahead.
Lyon boss Bruno Genesio does have Champions League football to look forward to and has managed to keep hold of his star man Nabil Fekir, a member of France’s World Cup-winning squad. But that might not last long with Liverpool still reportedly interested and the player seemingly keen to move on.
For the second summer in a row, the club has sold its best players – think back to Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich), Willem Geubbels (Monaco) and Mouctar Diakhaby (Valencia) – yet have been lifted by the recruitment in the last few days of promising youngster Reo Griffiths from Spurs.
Whether he figures in London just days after he left the English capital will be another intriguing backstory to what should be an entertaining friendly.
History
This will be the very first meeting between the two clubs – a fact that is quite surprising considering both clubs have been regular qualifiers for the Champions League over the last 15 years.
The Stamford Bridge clash is the inaugural meeting. The previous history between the clubs really concerns the transfer of Michael Essien who left France for London in 2005 for a then-club record £26 million, and the Ghanaian international proved excellent value.
What are the odds?
The ICC betting odds naturally favour Chelsea on home soil.
This match comes just 48 hours after their Community Shield encounter at Wembley against Premier League champions Manchester City, and it’s likely Sarri will field a stronger team in that clash than this.
However, he’ll still be keen to impress on his first outing at his new home, and for that reason, I back Chelsea to win with a -0.25 handicap at 2.11.
Of the other bets available, why not take a closer look at 1X2 Chelsea @ 2.36, compared to Lyon’s 1X2 @ 2.89 and the draw @ 3.20?
You can also get odds on the west Londoners to make a blistering start to the Sarri reign at home with a bet on Chelsea First Half 1X2 @ 2.83.
A safe bet is another Asian Handicap offering on Lyon Draw No Bet @ 2.17; and if it’s goals, Over 3.00 will pay out @ 2.12.
Total Goal 4-6 will give you odds of 2.77. And for the daring amongst you, how about a routine 2-0 home win at odds of 13.50?
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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