Chelsea vs Manchester City Match Preview

The first silverware of the season is at stake on Sunday afternoon as Chelsea and Manchester City lock horns in the Community Shield at Wembley. This game marks the return of top level football in England and even though it is meant to be a friendly competition, that is not always the case. This match gives fans the chance to assess where their teams are at ahead of the new Premier League season which gets underway next Friday.

• When: 3:00PM, Sunday, August 5th, 2018
• Where: Wembley Stadium, London, England

Chelsea

Chelsea have had a summer of upheaval with Maurizio Sarri replacing Antonio Conte in the managerial hot seat. The two managers have extremely different footballing philosophies and even though Sarri has made just one signing so far, Jorginho, I would expect Chelsea to play a very different brand of football this season. The big stories surrounding Chelsea this summer have involved Belgian duo, Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois who have been linked with big money moves to Real Madrid. Chelsea have so far managed to keep hold of their two star players, but both could well miss Sunday’s match after re-joining the squad late following their World Cup exploits.

Manchester City

Manchester City were hugely dominant in England last season, setting new records for the highest points total, most goals scored and most games won in the Premier League. It has been a fairly quiet summer for manager, Pep Guardiola, with the only major piece of transfer business being the addition of Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City. Mahrez suffered an ankle injury in their last pre-season fixture, but the Algerian has been passed fit to play on Sunday. Another player who will be looking to shine this season is Benjamin Mendy. The French defender is in line to make his first competitive start for Manchester City since last September when he injured his cruciate ligaments.

Chelsea vs Manchester City Betting Tip & Prediction

Games between these two sides are always tight, with Manchester City coming out on top 1-0 in both fixtures last season. Both sides could be missing a number of players who were involved in the World Cup right to the last with the likes of Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne and N’Golo Kante all unlikely to play the whole match. It will be interesting to see if Manchester City can reach the same heights as last season and I do think that this game will be extremely close. I think the game will be decided by a single goal and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the game went to penalties. If I was pushed to pick a winner, it would have to be Manchester City.

Chelsea vs Manchester City Betting Tips (Coral)

Manchester City come into this game as the favourites to pick up the win at odds of 21/20, whilst Chelsea are priced up at 12/5, with the draw also available at 12/5. I think it will be a very tight encounter at Wembley Stadium and Manchester City to Win and Under 3.5 goals at 2/1 looks like a solid bet to me. The odds of 12/5 on the draw are also tempting me, as I wouldn’t be surprised to see the game go all the way to a penalty shoot out. Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus both had disappointing World Cup campaigns and will be looking to make amends in this one, a bet on Aguero to score first at 7/2 could well prove to be money well spent in this one.

Sergio Aguero to Score First – 7/2 (Coral)