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Chelsea hosts Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Thursday in what is the best game of the English Premier League since it returned to action earlier this month after a forced break brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Blues are currently occupying the Champions League spot in 4th place. Meanwhile, Manchester City is second in the English Premier League table and are comfortably ahead of third-place Leicester City. The Citizens are merely playing out the rest of the schedule as they await the final verdict of their European ban sometime next month.
The match will air live via NBCSN at 3:15 pm EST.
Chelsea
Chelsea is currently sitting on 5th place in the English Premier League standings with a record of 15 wins, 6 draws, and 9 losses for a total of 51 points. They currently occupy the final Champions League spot and the Blues are just three points behind third-place Leicester City so they are also looking to move up the table.
In their first match since the restart of the season, Chelsea picked up a 2-1 comeback win over Aston Villa. The Blues went down 0-1 in the first half but they played much better in the second half by controlling 75% of ball possession that enabled them to score two quick goals for the home win and three points.
Tammy Abraham leads Chelsea with a total of 13 goals on the year. Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic each have six goals for City. Willian has five assists and five goals for the Blues while Cesar Azpilicueta also has five assists while netting twice. Mount also has four assists for Chelsea’s cause.
Chelsea’s 53 goals scored this term puts them in fourth place in England. They have conceded a total of 40 goals this term, 8th in the EPL while they are ranked 4th in assists with a total of 37 on the year. The Blues are also ranked 5th in goal difference with a +13 on the year.
Manchester City
Manchester City will be gunning for a third straight victory since the resumption fo the Premier League season as they visit Chelsea on Thursday. The Citizens are firmly tucked in second place in the league table with a record of 20 wins, 3 draws, and seven losses for a total of 63 points. They are currently 8 points up on third place Leicester City so they are just playing the string the rest of the way.
The Citizens head to this match after a 5-0 drubbing of Burnley. In that match, Phil Foden opened the scoring in the 22nd minute while Riyad Mahrez followed it up with two goals before the end of the first half. It was a dominating performance for Manchester City which has won its first two games back from the break by an aggregate score of 8-0.
Sergio Aguero is Manchester City’s top goalscorer with a total of 16 goals on the year. Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus have also scored double-digit goals with a total of 12 and 10, respectively. Kevin de Bruyne leads the team with a total of 16 assists this season while also scoring 9 goals. Mahrez has eight assists and nine goals while Bernardo Silva has seven assists and five goals scored.
Manchester City is the best offensive team in England. They rank first overall in goals scored with a total of 76 on the year and are also on top of the assists category with 55 this term. The Citizens are fourth with a total of 31 goals conceded this term while their +45 goal difference is also the best in the Premier League.
Who Wins?
Chelsea is tied with Sheffield United and Newcastle for the 8th best home record in England. The Blues are 7-3-5 with 24 points at home this season. On the other hand, Manchester City is the second best away team in the Premier League with a total of 28 points from a record of 9-1-5. These clubs have met in a total of 162 times in the past. Chelsea holds a slight advantage of 65-40-57. Manchester City won the reverse fixture 2-1 held in November 2019.
The Blues are looking to maintain their Champions League spot and they are five points clear of Manchester United who is currently in 5th place. On the other hand, Manchester City knows that they will not win the league title this season, or are they going to the Champions League because of their ban. However, they are still playing their best football and are looking to prepare themselves for next season.
Both teams aren’t really worried about their positions in the table and this will be a very exciting and free-flowing game. City looked far better in their first matches back than Chelsea looked against Aston Villa. Manchester City looks unstoppable right now and I will have to pick them over the Blues here.
Prediction: Manchester City (-127)
Alternate Bet
Over 3
+108
Under 3
-128
Odds from BetOnline as of 06/24/2020
Both Chelsea and Manchester City have a wealth of attacking talent which makes me believe that we will see plenty of goals at Stamford Bridge on Thursday. The Citizens lead the division in goal scoring with a total of 76 scores in this campaign. They have even been more deadly since the restart of the season, with a 3-0 win over Arsenal and a 5-0 victory over Burnley. Chelsea may not be as prolific as City but they are the 4th best scoring team in England and are fresh from scoring two goals in their return to action. The last five meetings between these two teams have produced an aggregate of 13 goals. I expect more goals on Thursday.
Prediction: Over 3
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