MANCHESTER CITY and Chelsea meet for the second time in four days on Sunday in an FA Cup tie where both sides could rotate.
A massive second half upgrade in performance from City saw them coast to a win that was more comfortable than the 1-0 scoreline suggests.
Chelsea appear resigned to their fate this season which is mid-table mediocrity under Graham Potter. They are now tenth and behind neighbours Fulham and Brentford in the table and a country mile away from any sign of a Champions League place.
In fairness to the former Brighton boss, he's hardly been helped by an injury list that would sink most clubs. Within a few minutes on Thursday, he'd lost Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic and they join N'Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Edouard Mendy, Armando Broja, Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Wesley Fofana on the unavailable list.
That's led to Potter turning to youth, but in truth, this Chelsea team looks a mile off competing again.
City were sluggish in the first half with players in unusual positions, but Pep Guardiola sorted it at half time and they dominated after that.
No matter what side he opts to field on Sunday, City should be too strong for a transitional Chelsea.
How the bookies view it
Manchester City are not quite as short as might be expected, with teamsheets playing a part. They can be backed at 2/5 with Coral.
Chelsea are 13/2 with William Hill and the draw is 4/1 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
As stated, City went to London and won 1-0 this week in the Premier League encounter. It was the third league game in a row that City had defeated Chelsea 1-0. They also beat them 2-0 in the Carabao Cup this season.
Players to watch
Erling Haaland drew a rare blank and could be rested here. Riyad Mahrez was the hero for City after coming on as a sub and scoring within four minutes. He is 13/5 to score again with UniBet.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could really do with a performance here. He came on as an early sub on Thursday and was promptly subbed off later having done next to nothing. The former Arsenal man is 4/1 with William Hill to net.
Anything else catch the eye?
City looked a class above an injury-ravaged Chelsea once they got their act together and it's hard to believe a similar scenario won't reoccur here on Sunday.
This time though, it shouldn't take them 45 minutes to get started and they should be backed to win half time and full time at a pleasing odds-against price of 23/20 with BetVictor.
They really should cruise to victory and the -1 at 11/10 with Betfred looks a solid shout.
Finally, Chelsea's Conor Gallagher was on a one-man mission to be booked in his 20 minute cameo role on Thursday which he somehow avoided. He could start here, but even if he doesn't, bet365's price of 21/10 on him to be carded looks a great shout.
This FA Cup match between Manchester City and Chelsea will be played on Jan 8, 2023 and kick off at 16:30. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs Chelsea prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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