Manchester City continues with steady steps in the Premier League, since it remains in 2nd place with 10 wins in 13 matches. Last week, however, they prevailed with difficulty against Fulham (2-1), with a penalty goal by Haaland in the 95th minute of the match. The Norwegian star, who came on as a substitute, scored his 18th league goal. City had taken an early lead through Alvarez’s goal but were immediately reduced to 10 men after Cancelo was sent off in the penalty which Fulham had the chance to equalize. The 1-1 remained until the end and the penalty awarded in stoppage time for Manchester City.
The heavy program of the days, until the World Cup 2022, is not yet completed, since last week the team was fighting for the Champions League and this evening there is the obligation for the League Cup, against Chelsea. Possible some corrective moves in the lineup by Guardiola. Next up is a Premier League game at Brentford on Saturday. Joao Cancelo is serving his suspension tonight, while Haaland may be protected, since he is still not at 100%. Given the absence of long-term Kyle Walker. It is possible that Mahrez, Ortega and Palmer will see the starting line-up, since the Spanish coach will want to give rest to the main players.
Chelsea have changed their philosophy under Potter’s guidance. The heavy loss, two games ago, by Brighton (1-4) may have hurt them, but at least against Dinamo Zagreb the team did their duty. They won 2-1 in London and qualified as the first of the group for the next phase of the Champions League. There they will meet Dortmund. In the league, the 2nd consecutive loss is a fact. The team could not change their fate, against the pioneer Arsenal (0-1). Bad performance, since they made a lot of mistakes in defense and in front they were basically not seen at all.
So, with morale not high, but also with several absences, Chelsea goes to the headquarters of City to fight for qualification to the next phase of the League Cup. Potter will logically make changes since he does not have at his disposal the defenders Reece James, Fofana, Chilwell, the goalkeeper Kepa, but also the midfielders Kante and Chukwuemeka, while the participation of Kovacic will not be risked early either. Midfielder Jorginho is also doubtful.
We expect City to have the first say. They are in a better phase than Chelsea, they play in their stadium and even with changes they have a much better quality team. The visiting team is dealing with several absentee issues, which may lead coach Potter to emergency solutions. There is logic in the 1X & Over 2.5 (TigersBet).
