Both Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola were expected to have a bit of a transitional period from their previous jobs to the Premier League, but both have been doing a fantastic job out of the blocks. Conte's Chelsea side sits at the top of the Premier League with 31 points, but just a point back is Guardiola's Manchester City side. But at the end of the day on Saturday, the Citizens are going to be favored to be sitting in the catbird's seat in England with the Blues coming to the Etihad.
At 7:30 a.m. ET, tune into NBC Sports Network for live television coverage of this English Premier League match on Saturday, December 3, 2016, at Etihad Stadium.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Manchester City +120
Chelsea +245
Draw +240
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
The Citizens are the favorites to win this match at +120, but clearly, this isn't all that convincing of a margin. This really is a tip of the cap to Chelsea and its 4-1-1 record. We also know that City is only 3-3-0 at home and hasn't been really been much to write home about playing here.
The total of 2.5 with -125 vig on the over is fairly par for the course at this level, but the initial betting action suggests that goals could end up being a little hard to come by for both of these two really good defensive teams.
Key Injuries
Conte has had some good fortune this season on the injury front. He's missing John Obi Mikel and John Terry at this point, but these players aren't nearly as crucial as they were a couple years ago for the Blues. They'll be fine without both against Manchester City.
Raheem Sterling went out of the game against Burnley last weekend, but he figures to be ready to go in this match. The news isn't as good for Vincent Kompany, as he's expected to be out until at least the start of the calendar year. There are a lot of fixtures to be played between now and then, and this is one of the many that the Man City captain will be sorely missed in.
Recent Form
Chelsea has been flat out killing it in the Premier League over the course of the last month or so. The team took care of Tottenham 2-1 on the heels of 1-0 at Middlesbrough, 5-0 against Everton and 2-0 at Southampton. The Blues have won seven straight matches domestically, and going 21-for-21 in the point department has taken them from the middle of the table to the very top.
Manchester City has allowed a goal in five straight matches across all competitions, and that's just not going to cut it for Guardiola. That said, he's got this team playing wide open soccer at the moment, and in spite of all of those goals allowed, the team hasn't been beaten since playing in the Capital One Cup with a bunch of reserves against Manchester United on October 26. The most recent match was on the road against Burnley, and the Citizens walked out with a 2-1 victory, a result that could end up looking quite good at the end of the year if the Clarets overachieve.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
A brutal match to try to handicap for sure. These two teams are basically on perfectly level terms with one another, and it's great to see that these English teams went outside of the Premier League to bring in some new blood. It's working and working incredibly well.
In the end though, we really think that the forward thinkers for City will have the edge at home. It's a big day for Sergio Aguero with his 10 goals in 10 games, and with Sterling coming back to the fold with his four goals and the tremendous surging play of 20-year old Kelechi Ihenancho, there are just too many options for the Blues to try to stop.
Though we started off by saying that Terry won't be missed all that much, he's the type of man who could organize this whole defense at the back. Without him and without a truly obvious alpha stopper at the back, this could be a problem. We do suspect though, that this will be a match that is decided late on.
English Premier League Odds: Manchester City 2, Chelsea 1
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