Premier League: This is Do or Die for Chelsea

Chelsea vs Manchester City

What a difference two weeks make. Not long ago, Chelsea were in an unbeaten group of three at the top of the Premier League, along with Manchester City and Liverpool.

That group of three has become two, and Chelsea have fallen quickly off the pace. There were whispered tones in West London daring to suggest this could be Chelsea’s year to wrestle the title from Manchester City. But defeats to Spurs and now Wolves have left Maurizio Sarri’s team ten points behind their Saturday opponents.

It might be early to rule the Blues out of the title race, but you only need to look at the Premier League betting odds to see that Pep Guardiola’s team is a strong favourite with only Liverpool currently seen as the serious threat.

It’s starting to look like a two-horse race, and a defeat for Chelsea in this game will all but confirm that.

Talking Points

What’s happened to Chelsea?

Two defeats in three games, conceding five goals between them, have changed the mood around Stamford Bridge from cautious optimism to one of frustration. Sarri’s new regime was going so well, unbeaten in 12 league games and with Eden Hazard playing the best football in the league and scoring for fun. It seemed like Sarri had helped Hazard to move up a notch to join the world’s elite. The addition of goals to his game took him to the top of the Premier League hit men, but the lack of goals in four league games has left the Belgian trailing behind Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as well as two Manchester City players, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero.

Eden Hazard’s offensive skills will play a vital point for Chelsea to beat Manchester City in their Premier League clash — Eden Hazard looking disappointed after their defeat to Wolves

Hazard isn’t just about goals, of course; he has made six assists already. But there is a feeling with Chelsea’s best midfielders, Jorginho and N’Golo Kante, playing quite deep, and the other strikers misfiring, Alvaro Morata the best with five goals. He needs to do too much on his own.

Chelsea’s setbacks were punctuated by a victory over Fulham, but that wasn’t exactly a breeze against the bottom club. The Blues will need a sharp upturn in performance level to seriously trouble Guardiola’s star-studded side.

Sky Blues are struggling to shake Liverpool off

It started to look like a perfect night for Manchester City as the Wednesday night Premier League updates rolled in: Chelsea and Liverpool were both losing. But Jurgen Klopp’s Reds launched a superb comeback to snatch all three points at Burnley to keep themselves within two points of the Blues.

The league leaders had a small scare at Vicarage Road on Tuesday after seemingly cruising to another comfortable win, but eventually triumphing by a narrow 1-2 scoreline. And at one point, that looked enough to pull the Sky Blues further clear.

But before Pep’s boys take the field at the Bridge, they could easily be in second place as Liverpool have a very winnable fixture away to Bournemouth in the lunchtime kick-off.

History

Chelsea’s Russian investment came in quite a few years earlier than City’s Middle Eastern cash, and that’s reflected in the Premier League head-to-heads. The Blues are on top with 24 wins to City’s 16, and there have been just seven draws.

Recent history is not so kind to Sarri’s team, though, as they haven’t won in the last three meetings. In fact, they have been defeated in all three without scoring a single goal.

Just two wins in the last five, in all competitions, is not the type of form to come into a game like this. Manchester City haven’t lost in 16 games, winning five and drawing two away from home. In addition to Sterling and Aguero, they have goals flying in from the boots of Leroy Sane (six), David Silva (five), and Riyad Mahrez (five). With a +38 goal difference, this team is a frightening prospect, particularly when you see it has only conceded seven goals.

So let’s take a look at the SBOBET odds to see where the value is.

Betting tip

	Chelsea vs Manchester City	Draw, First Half 1×2 @ 2.11
	December 9, 1:30 (GMT+8)

The Sky Blues are just about odds-on at 1.96 to win, while Chelsea are quite long at 3.70 for a home side with such a talented team; the draw is 3.45. It looks like City could well come out on top, considering very recent form. But Chelsea are still unbeaten at home in the league, and Sarri will demand a disciplined performance from his side.

If Jorginho and Kante can get a grip of the midfield, then the Blues might get a solid foothold in the game. Moreover, I doubt there will be more than a single goal in the contest.

It could well be a draw, and it could well be 1-1 at odds of 6.80. But I’m going for a first-half stalemate and a fascinating second, which will show whether the Blues can stem the Champions’ irresistible tide.