Manchester City will be hoping to keep their Premier League title hopes alive when they travel to face Chelsea on Friday at 4am (GMT+8)
Defending champions Man City started the season looking to become just the second club to win three Premier League titles in a row after rivals Manchester United (twice) and they were backed to do so early on. However, they have recently lost some ground in the race, trailing league leaders Arsenal. And while Arsenal have been nothing short of excellent, Man City do also have themselves to blame.
In their past three matches, either side of the World Cup, Man City have won just four points starting with their pre-Qatar defeat to Brentford. That loss opened up a five-point gap between Man City and Arsenal which they maintained by beating Leeds upon the Premier League’s return. However, last time out they were held to a 1-1 draw by strugglers Everton, meaning Pep Guardiola’s side have an uphill battle on for the second half of the campaign.
But Man City’s battle is nothing compared to Chelsea’s. The Blues are currently 10th in the Premier League, eight points behind fourth-placed Man Utd and seriously struggling for form. The honeymoon period following Graham Potter’s appointment is well and truly over, with Chelsea managing just one win on their past six league matches.
Before the World Cup break, Chelsea suffered three straight defeats, losing to Brighton, Arsenal and Newcastle but fans will have hoped that was over after they returned with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth. However, last time out Chelsea dropped more points, drawing with Nottingham Forest having been 1-0 up at half-time. The pressure is on Potter already and it’s not the best time to face Man City back-to-back (with the pair also facing off in the FA Cup on Sunday).
Chelsea vs Man City match stats
Chelsea have been struggling in front of goal this season, and they haven’t had the best of times in previous meetings against Man City. In fact, the Blues have now gone three matches without finding the net against Man City, their worst such run vs the Manchester side since 2017-18 (also three games). They last went four games in a row without scoring vs Man City in 1923.
Highlighting Chelsea’s attacking woes this season is the that fact Man City striker Erling Haaland has outscored the Blues on his own in the Premier League this season (21-20). The Norwegian has also scored seven goals in his six away Premier League games for Man City, including two in his last visit to London at West Ham in August.
W88 offers an impressive array of products from sports betting to live dealer casino, poker and slots, visit W88 official site to Play now!