Manchester City and
Chelsea have one thing in common: they both defeated in-form Arsenal F.C. this past week. After a run of seven straight league draws, Manchester City fans must have been relieved at the 3-0 Carling Cup defeat of the Gunners on Wednesday. This win is sure to give City the confidence it needs to take on 1st place Chelsea. Mark Hughes will be looking to win this match and will field a strong side with capable attackers.
Robinho,
Craig Bellamy,
Carlos Tevez and
Emmanuel Adebayor are all at the managers disposal, and he will likely start 3 of them up front. When figuring in midfielders
Stephen Ireland and
Shaun Wright-
Phillips, City will have not lack for attacking power this weekend.
Although City beat Arsenal in the Carling Cup by fielding a strong side,
Chelsea opted to start its second string against
Blackburn Rovers. This proved to be unwise, as the Rovers won the match 4-3 after penalties. Although the Blues are out of the league cup, they are in great position in both the Premier League and Champions League and shouldn't let this bother them too much.
Chelsea has beaten both Arsenal and Manchester United convincingly this season, and should not have as much of a problem against Manchester City.
Carlo Ancelotti only has the injury of defender Jose Bosingwa to deal with, and will otherwise field a fully rested squad that will look to make up for the mid-week loss to Blackburn.
Although
City beat Arsenal during the mid-week, the Gunners did not start a full-strength squad. Despite this,
Manchester's confidence will be high and they will be looking for a win here at Eastlands.
Chelsea, who have a fully rested squad, will likewise be looking for a win and with so many great attackers on both sides, over 2.5 goals seems a likely outcome.
Manchester City vs. Chelsea F.C.
Saturday December 5, 2009
Kickoff: 18:30 CET
Tip: Over 2.5 Goals
Best Odds: 1.88 @ BetClic
