Chelsea v Manchester City
Sunday 15 March 2009, Stamford Bridge
Kickoff: 13:30
Chelsea
Chelsea beat Portsmouth 1-0 away in their last league outing, continuing a run of four straight Premier League matches without a loss.
In their last five matches, Chelsea have won three, drawn one and lost one, earning themselves ten points from the latest fifteen on offer. The Blues found the back of the net four times and conceded three times in these matches, as they currently sit 2nd in the league, seven points behind leaders Manchester United and equal on points with 3rd placed Liverpool.
Chelsea may be without Deco due to his hamstring injury, as well as Joe Cole on a long-term injury.
Manchester City
Manchester City defeated Aston Villa 2-0 at home in their last league outing, their first league win in four matches.
In their last five, Man City have won two, drawn one, and lost two, picking up seven points from the fifteen available. Manchester City scored four and conceded four in these matches, as they find themselves 8th in the league, four points behind 7th placed West Ham and equal on points with 9th placed Wigan.
Man City have a lenghty injury list, and will be without Bellamy (knee), Petrov (knee), Johnson (groin), and Sturridge (groin), although Benjani Mwaruwari, Micah Richards and Robinho could all be fit for this clash.
Prediction
Chelsea beat Man City 3-1 earlier this season, and in last season’s Chelsea vs Man City fixture, the Blues were victorious with a massive 6-0 margin.
Chelsea will be on a high after their midweek aggregate win over Juventus to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals, and will have had more time to rest and prepare than Man City, who face Danish side AaB Aalborg in the last-16 first leg UEFA Cup tie on Thursday evening.
The Blues haven’t lost a match since new manager Guus Hiddink took over in February, and on current form this streak looks to continue against Man City. Although they have posted some shaky results at home this season, Chelsea currently hold the 5th best home record in the league whilst Manchester City hold 5th worst away form, having only won once away all season.
With a great run of recent form and the home crowd behind them, Chelsea will go into this match as strong favourites. Although Manchester City posted an impressive victory over 4th placed Aston Villa a week ago, their recent inconsistent form – especially on the road – suggests that Chelsea will come out of this match as fairly comfortable victors.
Read the complete Chelsea v Manchester City preview with the best bookmaker odds at the Sports Betting Review site.
Also See: Chelsea v Manchester City, 15 March 2009 – Live Blog
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