Tag: Manchester City

Manchester City vs Chelsea: The Title Decider?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

It’s certainly too early to call this weekends’ showdown between Manchester City and Chelsea a “title decider”. Despite this, we will still be able to gain some important indicators from this match as to who the likely champions will be. We have a lot more data to go on when it comes to predicting the champions than we had back in August. For example, Manchester United will clearly not be champions this season, and we don’t need to wait until it is mathematically certain to see why.

When Statistics Reveal the Answers

Quite often, statistics get to the very heart of the matter and reveal the truth. The league champions usually finish with a total of around 85pts. The points’ totals of City, Chelsea and Liverpool so far clearly indicate that this figure will be reached this season. United have 20pts from 13 games. Clearly, given their current level of performance, they will not amass 65pts from their remaining 25 matches. So what do the statistics reveal for the Manchester City vs Chelsea encounter?

Chelsea made a solid start to the season in August. They won all three of their league games. Looking back on these three games and how they played out revealed that all wasn’t well with the Chelsea system. All three of Chelsea’s opponents were relatively weak and this papered over the cracks. This led to a poor September where Chelsea only took one point from a possible nine. A home defeat to Liverpool and a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal highlighted the shortcomings in the Chelsea team.

The Trend is up

Analysing form in football betting usually means looking at trends. Chelsea had a total of 10pts from six matches after September. Since then they have taken maximum points from seven matches. This includes wins over Manchester United, Everton and Tottenham. Antonio Conte has turned things around very rapidly. They are becoming very difficult to score against and should they win at the Etihad this weekend, they will become serious title challengers and favourites.

The current trend is favouring Chelsea, and Manchester City’s recent form has been patchy. If we take away the great start to the season by City and the mediocre one by Chelsea then the difference in their recent form clearly gives the Blues a significant edge. Manchester City can be backed at 11/10 with Bet365.

Their recent home draws to Southampton, Everton and Middlesbrough seem to indicate that 11/10 is too short. Far too short when you consider that the visitors are possible champions elect. Stan James offers 13/5 on the draw with Betfred quoting 5/2 for a Chelsea win. Both teams may be happy with a point and so the value bet seems to indicate the draw at 13/5.

Burnley vs Manchester City: Tough Turf for City

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Turf Moor has long been considered to be a graveyard for the top teams that play there. This tight little stadium with a small capacity almost looks out of place in the Premier League. Burnley have been defying the critics for some time. The fact of the matter is this. Everton and Liverpool have both lost at Turf Moor this season while Arsenal were lucky to scrape a 1-0 win.

Despite their recent away win at Crystal Palace, City still look like a team that is capable of conceding goals. They are still many peoples’ bet for the title. It is difficult to ponder the variables when it comes to predicting whether Guardiola will lift the title in his first season. City has the potential and they certainly have the manager with the right philosophy. The question is will that philosophy work in the Premier League? Then we might ask if it will work in time for City to be Champions this season?

Bookies Buy into the Guardiola Effect

The betting firms have certainly bought into the famous “Guardiola effect”. Manchester City are favourites again for the title but should they be? Chelsea have been champions more recently than City and they don’t have to worry about European football this season. Guardiola freely admits that he is still “learning” the nuances of the Premier League.

This means that the bookies will certainly have them too short when they face Burnley in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday. William Hill has City at 2/7 to win. You can get odds of 5/1 with Stan James for the draw and 10/1 with BoyleSports for a Burnley win. The recent wins over Barcelona and the 4-0 win away to West Brom still haven’t convinced a lot of people that City have what it takes.

Buoyed by the Return of Toure

City have never really recovered since the loss of club captain Vincent Kompany. A succession of injuries is now looking to threaten his entire career. He went off injured again last weekend in the 2-1 win away to Crystal Palace. The plus side is the return of Yaya Toure. Guardiola claims he is back to full fitness and that is going to be a big boost for City. This is providing that Toure delivers and doesn’t drift in and out of games like he has done in recent seasons.

It is clear that City must start as favourites against Burnley but 2/7 favourites? Burnley have recorded consistent results this season. Their recent goalless draw at Old Trafford and the home win against Everton has left them with a respectable 14pts so far. The value bet seems to be the 5/1 for the draw. City are frail at the back and Turf Moor is a tough ground to visit….just ask Liverpool and Everton fans.

UEFA Champions League: Will City Clinch a Knockout Place?

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Manchester City reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season without Pep Guardiola. They will surely expect the same again with him at the helm. City currently lead Borussia Monchengladbach by 3pts going into their pivotal tie with the Germans at Borussia-Park. The odds heavily favour City despite this seemingly tough away fixture.

Poor Recent form Hampers Borussia

Borussia Monchengladbach has been in poor form of late. Recent league defeats in the Bundesliga against Hertha Berlin and more recently FC Cologne at home has left them struggling in the bottom half of the table. The Germans know that nothing short of a win against City will be good enough. That fact will surely play into City’s hands.

City, on the other hand, has just had a morale boosting league win. They have dropped valuable points recently in the league with several drawn games. The late winner that gave them a 2-1 win away to Crystal Palace on Saturday was badly needed. The big plus for Guardiola from that game was the presence of Yaya Toure.

Will Toure Play on Wednesday

There is no doubt that Yaya Toure is one of the best players in the Premier League when he is fully fit and on his “A” game. If Guardiola gets a fully fit Toure back into his squad playing regularly then it will seem like signing a new player. Toure hadn’t played since August before Saturday’s game at Palace. The look on Guardiola’s face at the final whistle was that of a man that knew Toure would make a big difference to their season.

City cannot afford any slip-ups on Wednesday. They will surely want to qualify for the knockout stage before they host Celtic in the final game. There is another factor at work too. City beat Barcelona 3-1 in their previous group game. That only puts them 2pts behind the Spaniards. So they will not want to miss out on a Barcelona slip up and not claim top spot in the group.

Qualification is Key

The big goal for City though is to qualify for the knockout stages. A defeat in Germany would put that in doubt. Bet365 are quoting City at 4/5 against Borussia which seems fair. Borussia is 16/5 and the draw is 11/4. Manchester City has the players to pick the Germans apart, who must surely press for the win.

Guardiola’s team dominated the Germans in the home leg and the gulf in class was obvious. It will be a huge result for Monchengladbach to get all three points from this tie. Realistically they are probably fighting Celtic for the third place spot and a Europa League place after Christmas.

The Germans will probably secure that anyway seeing as Celtic face Barcelona and then a trip to City in their remaining fixtures. It is worth repeating, though, that the return of Yaya Toure could be the pivotal point for Manchester City this season both in the league and in Europe.

Premier League Betting: Can City Hang Tough at Selhurst Park

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Manchester City faces a real fight if they are to win the Premier League in Pep Guardiola’s’ first season. The bookies made City and neighbours United strong favourites in the football betting markets back in August. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham have all made strong starts to the season. This has increased the pressure on Guardiola. Their recent 3-1 win against Barcelona will have done wonders for the teams’ morale.

City Need to Bounce Back

Only five points separate the top five teams. This season is shaping up to be the most exciting season for years. Six teams are in with a shout of taking the title. The dramatic win against Barcelona may have been a great result for City, but that didn’t prevent them from tumbling back down to earth several days later.

The 1-1 draw at home to Middlesbrough was yet another game where the Sky Blues have dropped valuable points this season. They now trail Liverpool by two points after leading the division by four points just a few weeks ago. Another defeat would not go down too well at the Etihad, especially when they face a tough trip next week to Germany in the Champions League.

Can Pardew hang with Pep

Alan Pardew is one of the longest serving Premier League managers. He has a history of beating the big teams on the big occasions. Selhurst Park is a tight little ground that no away team likes. Their supporters generate a terrific atmosphere, and very few teams come away from Palace with an easy win.

Palace is certainly a team that can rough up their opponents. Guardiola still seems to be having problems with the City defence. Players like John Stones seem to be caught between the two objectives of needing to be expansive and eliminating mistakes. City is as short as 1-2 with Bet365, while they also quote Palace at 5-1 for the home win.

The Value isn’t with City

The Premier League is a tough uncompromising division. Any team in the league can go on a run of negative results at any time. So the question is, are the bookies reading too much into the fact that Palace has lost their last four games, and only have one win in six? City recently went on a similar winless run, but then beat West Brom 4-0 away, and Barcelona 3-1 within a matter of days.

If you fancy City to be denied and be held to a draw yet again, then BetVictor offer an attractive 19/5. It’s difficult to be overly confident in any team that can beat Barcelona 3-1, and then be held 1-1 at home to Middlesbrough several days later.

City to Continue Their Winning Run

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POOR old Middlesbrough face the toughest of challenges this weekend when they travel to an expectant Ethiad Stadium to face top of the table Manchester City.

City will still be buzzing after their super midweek 3-1 Champions League win against Barcelona. After a winless run of six games in October, they’ve won their last two matches remaining at the top of the Premier League table, and on course for the last 16 in the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola’s side are the shortest price on the Premier League coupon this weekend at just 1.25, and although those prices are far from attractive, they will win and should be included in all of our weekend accumulators.

City won their last Premier League match at West Brom 4-0. At home they’ve been scoring goals for fun, and this is a real test for the newly promoted visitors at the weekend.

Middlesbrough arrive in Manchester not in the best of form after just one win in their last eight matches; they haven’t won away from The Riverside since August at arch-rivals and bottom of the table Sunderland, and I really don’t give them much of a chance of an upset even at the 15.00.

Aitor Karanka’s side has drawn their last two away matches at West Ham and Arsenal, but this is a much tougher challenge, and if the home side get off to a flying start as I expect, this could turn into a rout very quickly.

City will win, but 1.25 is too short for me; but 1.72 with Coral is a decent price on City to be leading at half-time and then again at full-time, and on the asian handicap lines I also like the general 1.80 on a City win -1.5 goals.

Sergio Aguero has been getting all the plaudits for his goals and performances this season, and the Argentinian is a very short 3.75 to open the goalscoring. However, former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is in fine goalscoring form with four goals in his last two games. In a match that is expected to feature a whole host of goals, and mostly City ones, the 4.50 with Betfred on the German to score at anytime looks worth taking as well.

Tottenham and Man City Need to Bounce Back

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The 2016/17 Premier League season may just turn out to be the most unpredictable league season on record. No fewer than six teams are in with a shout of winning the title, but which six you may ask?

In the past, perhaps two or three teams had a chance of taking home the big prize. This season is a different story. Would you bet against Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea or Man United winning the title next May?

Spurs Need to Exercise the Ghost

The ghost of last seasons’ poor finish to the season that handed Leicester City the title still haunts the fans at White Hart Lane. Tottenham always flatter to deceive but then crack when the pressure is on. They were held to a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth last weekend. So, getting all three points at home to Leicester on Saturday holds even more importance now.

The problem for Spurs is that the Foxes are coming into form. Leicester have been winning game after game in the Champions League. They also beat Crystal Palace 3-1 last weekend. Tottenham are firm favourites at 4/6 with William Hill, while Leicester City can be backed at 5/1 with Betfred.

The best price on the draw is 14/5 with Boyle Sports, and opposing Tottenham is probably where the value is. Tottenham are strong at home and have recently beaten Pep Guardiola’s Man City, but Leicester City are the champions and that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Man City Badly Need a Win

Man City were absolutely brilliant in all competitions until they recently went to Celtic Park in the Champions League. That 3-3 draw against Celtic was the start of a five game winless run. Pep Guardiola now needs a big result away to West Brom on Saturday. If City fail to win again, this could signal a crisis at the Etihad!

The number of individual errors that City players are making is growing in number. It is too early to suggest that City have a problem, but they certainly need a win against West Brom. Pep’s boys are 2/5 with Betfred, but those odds seem terribly short.

West Brom are strong at home and can be backed at 15/2 once again with Betfred. The best odds for the draw are 7/2 with Stan James. It seems that the short odds for City are based on their early season form.

Current Form is a More Accurate Indicator

If you want to find a good value bet current form reveals more clues than league position. Man City are still top of the league, but their form isn’t that of table toppers. The recent City performances seem to indicate that all is not well with Guardiola’s team of would be champions. City are deservedly favourites against West Brom, but a City victory is far from certain.