Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November

[Aidymac]

[TABLE=class: couponTable, width: 617] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=class: firstColumn]Chelsea v Manchester City (16:00 GMT)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.5[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.4[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.1[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]101.67 % [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

[IAmGooner]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November What a huge game this is, both have big European clashes in midweek, arguably bigger for Chelsea who go to Juventus, but City have Madrid at home which is a huge tie even though they will surely be knocked out. Chelsea seem to be running out of steam atm, defensive issues are rearing their head with Luiz doing his clown impression regularly, attackers dont want to defend, Torres is out of form and Sturridge had a stinker at the Hawthorns. But they are still a strong side and have the class behind Torres to make them competitive against most. City on the other hand have been in first gear all season but are slowly cranking it up and unbelievably top the league despite not playing anywhere near their best. Aguero is now firing, Silva has been class in recent weeks, I expect City to really step up in the league over the Xmas months. Odds look quite fair, I'd be tempted by City to get a positive result however.

[Jase82]

Could be another exciting week in the Premier League with this game looking like it could end up 8-8 :lol Is Cole still out? What about Ivanovich? I know Terry is out for a while. If Ivanovich and Cole remain doubts it could be huge for them. David Luiz looks poor at the back for them, and was made to look like a mug by Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie for Albion at the weekend. I'd say Chelsea's game is slightly bigger than City's. Although the news coming from City's camp is that they're still in the CL, the reality is that bar a numerical miracle they're gone. So I think they'll quickly turn their attention to the EPL. I am slightly favouring City here tbh. Anything around three looks like value, as there seems to be a slight over reaction to Chelsea's starting form. Due to their defensive frailties, and possible absences I think City will make light work of them.

[Jase82]

Manchester City @ 2.8 - Paddy Power. Di Matteo's been sacked, which is all the reason I need really. I thought City were value before that news, but surely this is just shooting yourself in the foot. I expect City to be eliminated from the CL tonight, which means they'll be concentrating greater on the EPL, and beating a rival is probably desirable. Chelsea have been very poor defensively the last few games, and I see City taking advantage here.

[neilovan]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November As to the sacking of di Mattaeo

He won the FA Cup and Champions League in his first couple of months in charge. He beat Barcelona over 2 legs' date=' and leads the Premier League. Riding his luck me bum, he is a very good manager. If he didn't understand defence, he would not have beat Barcelona, end of story. Jog on.[/quote'] definitely saw this one coming from a long way off....

[Aidymac]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Di Matteo's sacking is no reflection of him as a manager,. Abramovich is an impatient arrogant twat imo, a few bad results and he cuts the managers head, he has had 7 managers already. Abramovich is the problem for Chelsea FC, not Di Matteo. Very harsh sacking. definitely saw this one coming from a long way off....

[assange58]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November 2 words: F*ck Abramovich. Good luck ever having long term success with the poisonous culture he creates. What an absolute clown. Zero intellect, zero expertise, zero dignity, just another Russian tyrant...

[neilovan]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Gotta laugh. Without Abramovich Chelsea would just be another Tottenham. Competing every year but never winning anything, maybe a cup occasionally. The real Russian clown is actually Mikhail Khodorkovsky who is doing hard labour somewhere in Siberia. :spank That Oligarch is hating life all day every day. He's been f__d up 24/7. Abramovich is just impatient but he is far far from being a clown !!!!! Di Mattaeo is not crying either. He is setup for the rest of his life :welcome:cigar :rollin and I bet you he did'nt expect his tenure at Chelsea to last for many years either. A good coach, you must be dreaming, average more like. Lucky yes, and everyone needs a lucky break now and then. Any Premier league coach / Championship coach could do a decent job there with the personnel they have... It's not complete rocket-science :) [h=3] [/h]

[Aidymac]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November

Gotta laugh. Without Abramovich Chelsea would just be another Tottenham. Competing every year but never winning anything, maybe a cup occasionally. The real Russian clown is actually Mikhail Khodorkovsky who is doing hard labour somewhere in Siberia. :spank That Oligarch is hating life all day every day. He's been f__d up 24/7. Abramovich is just impatient but he is far far from being a clown !!!!! Di Mattaeo is not crying either. He is setup for the rest of his life :welcome:cigar :rollin and I bet you he did'nt expect his tenure at Chelsea to last for many years either. A good coach, you must be dreaming, average more like. Lucky yes, and everyone needs a lucky break now and then. Any Premier league coach / Championship coach could do a decent job there with the personnel they have... It's not complete rocket-science :)

Di Matteo won the Champions League and FA Cup in the first few months of his tenure. Average coaches don't do that. He did something Jose Mourinho could not do as hard as he tried, so credit to Di Matteo for bringing a European Cup to Stamford Bridge. Neil, it was not rocket science to predict he was going to get sacked by the way, everybody knew that as soon as a few bad results came, he was gone, as Abramovich has zero patience. Still does not mean Roberto is an average coach, what he did last year with Chelsea was incredible.

[neilovan]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November To me that ChampionsLeague win was the biggest fluke soccer has seen. Messi missing that penalty when Barcelona were 1-0 up ! Still luck plays it's part, and I wish nobody any bad (ok I have a few on my S___t list :). Good luck to him. I wonder if I should send Abramovich my resume :) ? More importantly , who is gonna win Saturday ??

[Sir Puntalot]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November

As to the sacking of di Mattaeo definitely saw this one coming from a long way off....

Lose the arrogance behind your posts Neil, and quickly.

[stefanos56]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Torres to score first goal: 7/1 with Ladbrokes Yeah, probably won't happen, but considering Benitez is now in charge he will know the first thing to do is to get Torres firing on all cylinders again. No doubt it will also be a confidence boost for Torres. Seeing as hes a 'confidence player' (and I can easily see the media jumping to conclusions straight away if Torres does indeed score), I'll kick myself if it comes in and I haven't backed it!!!

[Hutcho_CFC]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November

Torres to score first goal: 7/1 with Ladbrokes Yeah, probably won't happen, but considering Benitez is now in charge he will know the first thing to do is to get Torres firing on all cylinders again. No doubt it will also be a confidence boost for Torres. Seeing as hes a 'confidence player' (and I can easily see the media jumping to conclusions straight away if Torres does indeed score), I'll kick myself if it comes in and I haven't backed it!!!

Nothing like a bit of optimism when the manager is once the man who oversaw over torres when he was at his peak... I would love it to happen but after a very below average torres for near enough 3 years now (final year at liverpool wasn't too great either) i cannot see it... Love it to happen, but i can't see it at all... But hey who knows...

[Hutcho_CFC]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November As for the game the managerial change is awful preparation for the next game especially after going from a chelsea legend loved by all (well i suppose most), to rafa who i think is fair to say isn't best liked by most chelsea fans ATM, man city seem to have more value, i'll never bet against my team though so no bet for me. Cheers RDM, always will be a chelsea legend. KTBFFH!

[SALVO7ITALY]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November With Benetiz now managing Chelsea the first thing I can see him doing is tightening up the defense. Benetiz is usually a negative manager and with Man City naturally a cautious team I don't see many goals here. With both sides having gone out of the champions league I think each side will be desperate not to lose and put in negative performances. Like the old Chelsea Liverpool games Under 2.5 Goals - 10 Points

[Aidymac]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November *Manchester City WIN @ 2.8 > Betfair* *Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.69 > Betfair* I don't think Benitez will have enough time in just a couple of days to strengthen Chelsea's defence, he will need a few weeks imo. Even if he has the defence strengthened, this is still Man City they are playing, with an abundance of match winners and goalscorers. City can now concentrate on the league as they are out of Europe. Lampard and Terry remain out for Chelsea, Torres is playing awful at the moment, and we saw Hazard play up front against Juventus midweek, they have a big striker crisis. Should be an open game in my opinion, but i definately fancy City to take the spoils, with a few goals in the game, could be similar to the United game at the Bridge imo. Value lies with City for me personally.

[RedDevil92]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Kompany is out of this match.

[neilovan]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Regarding the sacking of de matteo, It's not arrogance, i just said it would happen (posted this on 30th October). Personally I don't think he is great coach. Just average. He fluked a few things. But is only my opinion. You are entitled to yours ..... Surely on a forum one is more than entitled to have an opinion ?

[Jase82]

Regarding the sacking of de matteo, It's not arrogance, i just said it would happen (posted this on 30th October). Personally I don't think he is great coach. Just average. He fluked a few things. But is only my opinion. You are entitled to yours ..... Surely on a forum one is more than entitled to have an opinion ?

You are right, but let others flag up what you say :ok a bit of humility will go far on here :)

[Fedar]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November As a Liverpool sympathizer, I have got more than enough from the Rafa medicine. This guy's concern is always at first not to lose a game. He cannot be really successful in the long term in a top team with this mentality, because he too often drop points against mediocre teams, but he is one of the best in head to head meeting with other top teams. Maybe it is still too early for him to have big influence on the team, but I do expect him to pick a more defensive and security oriented squad for this game. Mancini would also take a draw at Stamford Bridge instantly. Therefore, I am leaning both towards the draw and unders here.

[Hitch]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November

Regarding the sacking of de matteo, It's not arrogance, i just said it would happen (posted this on 30th October). Personally I don't think he is great coach. Just average. He fluked a few things. But is only my opinion. You are entitled to yours ..... Surely on a forum one is more than entitled to have an opinion ?

I don't think they're talking about what you said as much as the way you said it.

[-Blackadder-]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Will look into the odds for Torres AGS - he and Rafa have a great relationship and this Chelsea team is far closer to the type of side that suits him than any before, with Oscar, Mata, Hazard etc all good on the floor and all able to put balls behind the defense for him to latch on to.

[kevshat]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November 4pts Man City to beat Chelsea 9/5 BetVictor I think Man City are good value here. Chelsea have been shown up in defence without John Terry in recent weeks and his absence will be a huge loss here. That is a problem on the pitch and with protests and things mooted about the appointment of Benitez from those in the stands this has the makings of a long and tough afternoon for the European champions. City have had their faults in Europe this season but generally they’ve gone well domestically and I think they can pick up another 3pts here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/chelsea-vs-man-city-betting-man-city-can-make-rafael-benitez-s-return-to-management-an-unhappy-one

[neilovan]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Man City have played 5 games away. All of these games have been against tough opponents. Liverpool 2-2 opening away fixture was tough. Stoke 1-1 , difficult team to overcome Fulham 1-2 , last gasp win WBA 1-2 , last kick of the game win West Ham 0-0 , always a tough nut to crack. I think City are getting better, hitting their straps, while Chelsea have stalled. Mancini has a conservative "let's not lose mentality". Do City shed this and come ready to win, or do they setup looking for a draw, or perhaps to sneak it by 1 goal ? I'm going to wait for the team news before I make my bets , but I'm leaning towards a 1-1 draw here. Benetiz will not want to start with a defeat, so maybe it's two teams setting out conservative defensive stalls.... Neil.

[chong]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Wish I could back this up with some stats and figures and I apologise for not having anything but a hunch to back this bet. But it's written in the stars for Fernando Torres to score today - he's the only option at Chelsea and Benitez "knows how to play him" or so we keep hearing. I do hate to bet blind and I'm not having big stakes it's just one of those things that do happen. Small stakes - Torres to score first @ 7/1

[Gavlar17]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Can someone confirm please, Torres' drought started whilst he was at Liverpool under the management of Benitez. I'm sure the bad form for the final sox months of his time at Liverpool was also under Benitez. Anyone who genuinely believes that Torres will burst into form is dreaming in my opinion. I expect Man City to win today, albeit by the odd goal. Kompany missing is a big negative and Chelsea have tje players to create chances and no doubt score, as do City. Man City to win 2-1 @ 10/1 BetVictor. Good luck all with your bets.

[SilverShux]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Exciting match up – I think that City are in better form than Chelsea, are out of the CL and thus their efforts are all focused on the league now. With that said, it is interesting also how teams seem to get results in the first few games after a new manager is appointed. Banitez would want to impress in his first game. Putting both factors together, I think both teams to score is a decent pick Both to score @ 1.53 Bet365

[blackcrow]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Over 3.5 @ 2.71 sportsbet With both teams missing their defensive leaders, Terry and Kompany, and with the wealth of attacking talent at the disposal of both teams, then like the look of this being a high scoring game. Luiz and Cahill, and Lescott and Nastasic, do not inspire too much confidence in the ability to keep a clean sheet, and this could be another high scoring game between two of the better teams in the league. Chelsea have scored at least twice in 7 of their 12 games this season as they have also conceded in their last three home games and their last seven games overall while Man City have scored at least twice in 8 of their 12 games, and they have conceded in 4 of their 5 away games.

[stefanos56]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Man of the match: Tevez 7/1 with Betvictor (2 units) Man of the match: Silva 8/1 with Betvictor (3 units) Given the obvious defensive short-comings in a Terry-less defence (won't add any more to the above) I can see either/both of these players giving Chelsea nightmares. Tevez's record against Chelsea can't be ignored (he's scored 6 times in the league against Chelsea) and Silva has returned from injury to remind everyone what City were missing - his vision and guile is superb. As I say, either of these could do some damage to this Chelsea backline and having a go at each to deliver.

[stefanos56]

Re: Chelsea v Manchester City > Sunday 25th November Both teams to score in 1st half: 3/1 Skybet Both teams will respect each other greatly, however, with the attacking talent on display and the questionable defensive units (especially if Kompany doesn't make it) then I'm happy to go with this. Not a shoo-in by any stretch of the imagination but I just can't ignore the attacking talent and if a goal is scored fairly early then the natural resonse of the other team will be to step it up.