English football’s two most recent European champions face off on the opening day on Sunday. By the time they meet, the 2024/25 Premier League season will be well underway, with plenty of Chelsea and Manchester City’s rivals having laid down some early markers, or left room for these two shades of blue to gain a head start.
Chelsea are once again a crisis club until Enzo Maresca can prove he is the right man for the job (or a miracle worker). They can be backed at 13/4 with Unibet and BetMGM to upset the four-time defending champions, for whom this is a season that could bear trouble down the road, either by facing 115 charges worth of music, or the departure of the great Pep Guardiola. Nevertheless, after their Community Shield success, they are odds-on, at a best price of 17/20 with BetGoodwin and QuinnBet, to make a winning start.
Chelsea vs Man City Tips
Tip #1 – Josko Gvardiol to Score Anytime @ 17/2 with Paddy Power & bet365
Given how he ended the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, it seems remarkable that Josko Gvardiol did not score in the first 32 league matches last term. When his side needed inspiration though, he came up clutch, notching four in his final six games, as his left back role became much more involved with the attacking stages of Guardiola’s masterplan.
Even in the Community Shield, in which City fielded a young side, Gvardiol regularly supported Jeremy Doku ahead of him, including a shot which bent narrowly wide in the second half from outside the box. That new-found ability to shoot with his right foot has proved a big asset, with three of his four goals being scored on what has traditionally been his opposite side. Teams did not wake up to it last term, and while Malo Gusto may be a good option in terms of nullifying Doku’s threat, there could well be space open for Gvardiol to occupy against a Chelsea side pieced together disparately and perhaps desperately. The Croatian may also threaten from set pieces too.
Tip #2 – Manchester City to Win 2-0 @ 12/1 with William Hill
City have won their last two opening day games to nil, though did suffer a defeat the last time they faced a “Big Six” team first time out, going down 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Both games between these two sides featured goals for each team last season too, including a memorable 4-4 at Stamford Bridge.
However, early season cobwebs looked to blight the Citizens at Wembley, while Chelsea’s pre-season form has been far from inspiring. New Head Coach Maresca’s very distinct style of play is even more possession reliant than former mentor Guardiola’s, but adapting to those methods for a side once again cobbled together through scattergun transfer dealings looks an almighty task here. Unless Cole Palmer bails them out again, Chelsea might find scoring tricky against the defending champions, though City may not be quite as ruthless as they would once momentum strikes. A low scoring victory to nil looks the play.
Chelsea Performances So Far
Pre-season has been, predictably, tumultuous for Chelsea fans, who may be the first ever set of supporters to be desensitised to the universally exciting feeling of signing a player. There were some performances to give hope in their summer friendlies, though Enzo Maresca’s baptism of fire will only come on Sunday.
Chelsea Pre-Season Results
Chelsea 2-2 Wrexham
Chelsea 1-4 Celtic
Chelsea 3-0 Club America
Chelsea 2-4 Manchester City
Chelsea 1-2 Real Madrid
Chelsea 1-1 Inter Milan
Manchester City Results So Far
The Community Shield has often managed to elude Manchester City despite their otherwise total dominance over domestic competition. Defeats have not served to derail momentum in the past though, so we will only see the true City when they break onto the Stamford Bridge turf this weekend.
Man City Pre-Season Results
Manchester City 3-4 Celtic
Manchester City 2-3 Milan
Manchester City 2-2 Barcelona (Lost 4-1 on Pens)
Manchester City 4-2 Chelsea
Manchester City 1-1 Manchester United (Won 7-6 on Pens)
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