English Premier League Soccer - Chelsea vs. Manchester City, 6/25/20 - Preview, Prediction & Odds
Embarking on the restarted Premier League campaign with two wins and a couple of clean sheets, 2nd-placed Manchester City will try to continue in similar fashion while visiting 4th-placed Chelsea, who are unbeaten in four EPL games. Kick-off - at 15:15 PM ET on Thursday, June 25.
Chelsea Extend Unbeaten Streak
The start to the revised Premier League campaign turned out perfectly for Chelsea, who banked their second consecutive EPL victory, extending their unbeaten run in the league to four fixtures (W3 D1) following a 2-1 triumph against second-bottom Aston Villa away at Villa Park on Sunday. The hosts opened the scoring at the end of the first half before the 55th-minute introduction of Christian Pulisic turned the game around, with the USMNT winger tying the proceedings just five minutes after coming on as a substitute before Olivier Giroud bagged the winner another two minutes later. Chelsea remain 4th in the standings (W15 D6 L9), five points above 5th-placed Manchester United, trailing 3rd-placed Leicester City by three points.
English striker Tammy Abraham leads Chelsea with 13 Premier League snipes, with Pulisic and Mason Mount sharing the 2nd place with six markers each. Goalie Kepa Arrizabalaga, meanwhile, sits 21st in the league with 45 saves. He has raked in six clean sheets in 26 contests this season and allows a goal every 71 minutes on average. Chelsea have scored the 4th highest number of goals during the ongoing campaign (53), while delivering the 2nd highest quantity of shots per game (16.7). The team is 3rd in ball possession (57.8%) and 2nd in passing accuracy (84.8%).
Manchester City Destroy Burnley
The excellent form of Manchester City after the restart of the Premier League continued, as the team banked its second consecutive victory, following up last Wednesday’s 3-0 triumph against Arsenal with a 5-0 thrashing of Burnley at Etihad Stadium on Monday. Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez both scored twice, Bernardo Silva picked up two assists, while David Silva netted his sixth strike of the season, with the Citizens now going with four victories in their last five Premier League outings (W4 L1). The team is 2nd in the standings with a W20 D3 L7 record, eight points ahead of 3rd-placed Leicester City with a game in hand.
Manchester City’s top scorer Sergio Aguero (16 goals) has likely played his last match in the Premier League this season after undergoing knee surgery in Barcelona on Wednesday, leaving Raheem Sterling (12 goals) and Gabriel Jesus (10 goals) as his closest successors. Goalie Ederson, meanwhile, sits 19th in the EPL with 50 saves. He has picked up 11 clean sheets in 27 appearances this year and concedes a goal every 98 minutes on average. The Citizens are top of the league in goals scored (76), shots taken per game (19.4), ball possession (61.9%) and passing accuracy (89.1%).
Prediction
Chelsea looked solid in their first game back from the coronavirus break, especially with Christian Pulisic in the team. Still, the Blues’ performance versus Aston Villa was nothing compared to Manchester City’s explosive return, which saw the Citizens dominate their first two contests since the Premier League restart thoroughly. Playing against Arsenal and Burnley, the reigning champions posted a combined 69.5% ball possession, outshot their opponents 39-4, and outscored them 8-0. It was like the team never had its three-month break! Manchester City has already beaten Chelsea in six of their last seven meetings in all competitions (W6 L1) and will be a serious threat in London.
Best bet:
Manchester City to win (-125)