football | Wednesday, January 4, 2023 12:37 PM (Revised at: Wednesday, January 4, 2023 3:12 PM)

Chelsea vs Manchester City Bet Builder Tips: 6.45 Builder for Premier League Clash

James Cantrill

Chelsea vs Manchester City Bet Builder Tips

The cynosure of the mid-week Premier League action takes place on Thursday at Stamford Bridge where we have Chelsea v Manchester City bet builder tips.

Both sides will be looking for a reaction following disappointing draws to sides in the bottom five in their most recent league matches.

Recent history suggests the visitors are justifiably short having got the better of the Blues in each of their last three meetings, without conceding.

In this article:

Chelsea vs Manchester City Preview
Chelsea vs Manchester City Stats & Facts
Chelsea vs Manchester City Bet Builder

Chelsea vs Manchester City Preview

Thursday, January 5th, 20:00 (UK)

It cost Chelsea around £30m to buy Graham Potter out of his Brighton contract. The Blues will have to fork out considerably more in wages after giving him a five-year deal, whether he serves the full tenure or not.

When he was unveiled at the start of September it seemed like a real statement. New ownership and a long-term project under the tutelage of one of the most promising managers in the country.

Funny how quickly things can change in football. Paying Potter off does not seem as outrageous as it did a matter of weeks ago.

Since he took charge in the capital, the underlying metrics have regressed and so have the results. Chelsea have only won one of their last seven league games, a 2-0 victory over Bournemouth in which they were 1.36 on.

Potter’s side have lost to Newcastle and Arsenal, were thumped by his former club and have dropped points against Brentford, Manchester United and most recently Nottingham Forest.

With back-to-back fixtures against Manchester City, it looks like things will get a lot worse before they get better.

The hosts have real issues in defence as well with Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ben Chilwell all out for this one. They look particularly vulnerable on the right side where Cesar Azpilicueta should flank Kalidou Koulibaly.

Pep Guardiola’s side also come into this one having squandered points in their last match, points that could not really be afforded to be squandered.

Demarai Gray’s strike made sure the points were shared at the Etihad on Saturday and left City seven points off the pace.

The visitors are odds-on here to make amends as they look to record some ground on their title challenge.

Chelsea vs Manchester City Stats & Facts

Only four top-flight sides rank lower in the form table than Chelsea who have won just five points despite playing two of the bottom six teams over that period.
Manchester City have already lost two times in 16 league games this season, one less than they lost in the entirety of last campaign.
City’s implied probability of victory in the capital is 61.7%, yet they have won 50% of their last eight meetings with Chelsea.
At least two goals here and Erling Haaland will become the first player for a decade to score two or more in their first two Premier League away games in London.

Chelsea vs Manchester City Bet Builder

Any match involving the traditional ‘big 6 will have hype aplenty, but given the hosts’ precarious form and the distance between City and leaders Arsenal, this one has added significance.

This is why, despite an unfavourable referee appointment and these two slides not being notoriously dirty, the foul market has some appeal here.

It does not matter if it is Jack Grealish, Phil Foden or both flanking Haaland, Azpilicueta will be in for a long evening at Stamford Bridge.

The veteran defender looks set to start given the lack of options for Potter at full-back and is more than capable of racking up the fouls.

In his five appearances at full back this campaign, he has committed 11 fouls hitting this line in four games. That includes each of his starts against fellow big boys Manchester United and Arsenal.

Grealish is notoriously good at drawing fouls, averaging 2.6 per game, though it does not matter too much if Foden gets the nod.

Combining Azpilicueta to commit two fouls with Koulibaly pays out at a tasty 6.45.

He posts above-average numbers for defensive output, averaging 2.1 tackles per game and only Kai Havertz averages more fouls per game for Chelsea than the latter (1.1) who has committed at least two in 40% of his domestic appearances.

In City’s biggest games this season, against Newcastle, Man Utd and Liverpool, all of the six central defenders committed at least one foul.