Manchester City v Chelsea: Blues Blow City Away to Stay in Title Hunt?
Avram Grant’s next two matches could determine his Chelsea future as either defeat at City or failure to overcome Turkish outfit Fenerbahce in the Champions League 2nd leg could spell the end of his brief reign in charge. His side are performing in a very un-Chelsea like manner to what we’ve become accustomed to. They’re no longer the watertight, clean-sheet expecting Blues side we knew and grudgingly respected under Jose Mourinho. However, there’s still a chance of a Premier League and Champions League double and this weekend’s opponents Man City are approaching the last few games of the season in a similar fashion to Spurs, they’ve already packed up and gone on holiday.
Citizens Caned by Chelsea regularly
Sven Goran Eriksson’s side suffered their biggest defeat of the season at Stamford Bridge in October when they were beaten 6-0. However, the Swede is not alone in terms of previous City Managers who’ve struggled against the Blues. The Stamford Bridge billionaires have won the last 5 encounters home and away. They’ve lost just once in the last 19 Premier League meetings (14 wins). The Citizens haven’t even scored in the last 6 matches with Chelsea. In fact, they’ve scored just 1 goal in the last 11 matches and even that goal scorer now plays for the Blues. Yes, you’ve guessed it, that player was Nicolas Anelka from the penalty spot in a 1-0 home win in October 2004. The last City player to score from open play against Chelsea was in fact Steve Howey, seven years ago in a 2-1 home defeat in May 2001. The Citizens home record against the Blues also makes abysmal reading. They’ve won just 2 of the last 18 home encounters with Chelsea (13 defeats) stretching back 30 years. Those wins came in 2004 and 1991 so not a common occurrence by any means.
City’s End of Season Slump
Manchester City are ending the season in a melancholy manner, they’ve nothing to play for except their best ever Premier League finish but with so many new foreign signings on their books, it’s debatable whether that prospect would really excite those players. City have won just 2 of their last 11 League matches (5 defeats), they’ve picked up just 10 points from the last 33 available which has seen them slide from 4th spot at beginning of 2008 to 9th place now. The Citizens lack the firepower to break into the Premier League elite as they’ve failed to score in 4 of their last 6 matches. Even their impressive Eastlands record is in ruins as they’ve picked up 1 win in their last 7 home matches (2 defeats). They’ve failed to score in 2 of their last 3 Eastlands matches so another shut-out for Chelsea could be on the cards.
Chelsea the Entertainers
Avram’s team are not firing on all cylinders but are still grinding out League wins despite their recent cup failures. Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 15 League matches (11 wins) and though their last 3 wins have all been by a 1-goal margin, they’re still grabbing the points. The problem for Grant is his side are no longer the meanest defensive side in Europe as they are susceptible to goals, particularly and surprisingly to set-pieces. The Mourinho era is over and high scoring 4-4 draws are becoming the norm for the Blues. They’re having no problem scoring goals themselves and have now scored in 15 of their last 16 League games. They’ve also scored 18 goals in the last 6 games alone but don’t expect a repeat of the thrashing they handed out to City earlier in the season.
The Citizens are off form and rarely beat Chelsea so backing the away side is the wisest option for Premier 10 this week. The only worry is that Avram Grant may tinker with his side ahead of the Champions League return leg with Fenerbahce next week. However, with such importance riding on this match the Blues won’t need to be motivated to pick up their 3rd win on the bounce at Eastlands.
Pundit’s Pick: Take a Chelsea win for Granted (away win) Do you agree with this result for your Premier 10 prediction? Play Now>>
Tags: Blues, Chelsea, Citizens, Manchester City, Premier 10 preview, Premier League
