CHELSEA ended 2020 on a downer and face a daunting task for their first game of the new year as Manchester City come calling.
Frank Lampard's side have won just once in their last five league games to plummet down the Premier League table and can't afford to lose more ground if they are to stay in title contention.
Having backed their boss heavily in the summer, the Stamford Bridge board would have been expecting more for their investment and questions will be asked of Lampard unless he can quickly turn things around.
A win over Manchester City would certainly boost morale but Pep Guardiola's side are in fine form, having gone 10 games unbeaten since a 2-0 loss to Spurs.
However, five City players will have to sit this one out due to the outbreak that forced their last match against Everton to be cancelled.
Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker are two of them but the other three are unnamed so it could be wise to wait until the teams are announced before placing your bets.
How the bookies view it
Manchester City are the favourites but they are still a decent 13/10 at Genting for a win. Chelsea's best price is 9/4 at SBK while the draw pays 29/10 at SportNation and shouldn't be ruled out.
Recent head to head
It has been pretty even between these sides in recent years with the last 10 matches producing four Chelsea wins, five City victories and one draw.
Last season the Blues claimed a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge (below) after Guardiola's side had won by the same score at the Etihad.
Players to watch
Christian Pulisic scored against City last season and the American is a decent 3/1 with 888Sport for anytime scorer here.
It's hard to pick out a City player as we still don't know who is available but Phil Foden also looks a good price at 3/1 with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye?
Chelsea's games against the big guns have disappointing this season and I got my fingers burned backing goals when they ground out a 0-0 stalemate with Manchester United.
It also ended without a goal when they played Spurs, with Slips Tips one Tottenham strike away from a full-house, while Chelsea lost 2-0 at home to Liverpool.
So I'm going to bet against thrills here, with under 2.5 goals paying 23/20 with McBookie and both teams not scoring priced 19/13 with SBK.
I can see the score being level at half-time, which is priced 13/10 at Bet365, while the 4/5 on offer at Paddy Power for Kevin De Bruyne having one or more right-foot shots on target also appeals.
This English Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City will be played on Jan 3, 2021 and kick off at 16:30. Check below for our tipsters best Chelsea vs Manchester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.