Chelsea vs Man City Prediction and Betting Tips: Best bets for Sunday's blockbuster

Live on Sky Sports, Chelsea go up against the defending Premier League Champions Manchester City in their opening game of the season this Sunday at Stamford Bridge.

After a late surge towards the end of last season, Chelsea finished 6th in the league table, which secured European football. The Blues will now be hoping that their new manager Enzo Maresca can help them clinch the Champions League spots this season.

Big money signings this summer include Pedro Neto from Wolves and Kiernan Dewsbury Hall from Leicester while there are talks ongoing to bring both Joao Felix and Victor Osimhen to Stamford Bridge before the transfer window closes in about two weeks.

Chelsea had a disappointing pre-season, conceding 13 goals in six games, and giving away a lot of clear-cut opportunities as the players tried to adapt to Enzo Maresca’s high-pressing style. They were also beaten 4-2 by Manchester City with Erling Haaland bagging a hat-trick.

As for Manchester City, they will be aiming to break their own record and win the Premier League title for a fifth consecutive season. It was a mixed pre-season for Pep Guardiola’s men having lost two, drawn one, and won one game; conceding two or more goals in each of the four games. However, they managed to beat Manchester United in the Community Shield Final on penalties despite fielding a young side that was missing most of the players who were involved in the European Championship.

With Alvarez leaving for Atletico Madrid, Oscar Bobb getting injured and Rodrid unavailable to play, Chelsea will feel they have a genuine chance of causing an upset against the champions. Both their league games last season ended in a draw and another tightly contested affair could be on the cards.

Chelsea vs Manchester City Team News:

Reece James is out for Chelsea, who have no other missing players.

Oscar Bobb and Rodri are out for Manchester City while Jack Grealish is doubtful.

Bet Builder 1

• Moises Caicedo - Over 0.5 fouls committed
• Malo Gusto - Over 0.5 tackles
• Christopher Nkunku - Over 0.5 shots
• Over 0 goals in the 2nd half

Moises Caicedo averaged 2.6 tackles and 1.4 fouls per game last season for Chelsea and he will have a huge task of going up against the dynamic Manchester City midfield comprising of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic. He committed three fouls each in both head-to-head meetings in the Premier League last season and should commit another foul here to land this selection comfortably.

Malo Gusto averaged two tackles per game last season and committed eight and two tackles respectively in the two games against Manchester City. He will be up against Jeremy Doku, who is a tricky dribbler, and the last time these two came up against each other, Gusto registered a massive eight tackles at the Etihad.

Christopher Nkunku has been one of Chelsea’s best players in pre-season, scoring three goals and attempting a total of 15 shots in six games, playing just 45 minutes in two of them. He looks a real threat in Enzo Maresca’s system and consistently gets into the final third to get a shot away. He should be able to register at least one shot against City this Sunday.

Finally, with this being the season opener for both sides, I expect both teams to start cautiously in the first half and the game to open up a lot more in the final 45 minutes. There has been a second half goal in each of their last four head-to-head meetings in all competitions and I expect that trend to continue.

Bet Builder 2

• Moises Caicedo Booked
• Malo Gusto Over 1.5 tackles
• Christopher Nkunku Over 1.5 shots

Moises Caicedo was Chelsea’s most booked player with 11 yellow cards last season. He was booked in all three meetings against Manchester City, including the FA Cup semi-final as well as both the Premier League meetings.

As for Malo Gusto, I am taking a higher line for tackles. He registered two or more tackles in both of his games against Manchester City last season and with Reece James unavailable, he will be expected to play the full 90 minutes against the likes of Doku and Grealish.

For the final selection, I am taking a higher line on Nkunku shots. He averaged three shots per game in pre-season and will also be expected to play the full 90 minutes, increasing his chances of clearing this line.

Combining these three selections gives us a cracking longshot at 6/1 which we will take as our second bet for this game with a small 0.25pt stake.