Football
Man City vs Chelsea Preview: Odds, Tips and Prediction
Date: Sunday 4 January 2025 Venue: Stamford Bridge Kick-off time: 5:30pm GMT The first full Premier League matchweek of 2026 ends with two titans of the Premier League going head-to-head, as Manchester City host Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Ahead of Sunday’s clash, top football betting sites are giving you odds across many different markets. For a full lowdown on the form of both teams, players to watch, team news and tips, read our full preview below.
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Erling Haaland of Manchester City / Getty Images
Manchester City will certainly fancy their chances in the latest reunion between the two managers. The hosts’ manager Pep Guardiola beat his former assistant Enzo Maresca in both meetings between the two clubs last season. City are unbeaten in their last 11 matches against Chelsea, dating back to Chelsea’s Champions League final victory over them in 2021, winning nine of those 11 games.
On top of this, City have won eight matches in a row in all competitions at the time of writing (they are set to face Sunderland away from home on New Year's Day), leaving them one point off Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. Chelsea had won two of their last eight matches in all competitions going into their match at home to Bournemouth on Tuesday, sitting fifth in the table.
Pre-Game Odds and Win Probability
Pre-game odds for Man City vs Chelsea are available for fans of online sports betting.
Home 8/11 (1.73) – 57.9%
Draw 3/1 (4.00) – 25%
Away 3/1 (4.00) – 25%
Odds courtesy of Betway, subject to change
Head-to-Head Record
Last Five Meetings
- 25/01/25: Man City 3-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
- 18/08/24: Chelsea 0-2 Man City (Premier League)
- 20/04/24: Man City 1-0 Chelsea (FA Cup)
- 17/02/24: Man City 1-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
- 12/11/23: Chelsea 4-4 Man City (Premier League)
Manchester City Current Form – WWWWW
City passed all their tests in December with flying colours. In the last five, they started with a very impressive 1-2 win at Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, before three more victories were claimed without conceding.
The first of those came in a 0-3 success at Crystal Palace, before 2-0 and 3-0 home wins against Brentford and West Ham respectively. In their last match of 2025, an 83rd-minute winner from Rayan Cherki made the difference in a 1-2 win at Nottingham Forest.
Key Players to Watch
- Erling Haaland: Not only is the Norwegian the Premier League’s current top scorer with 19 goals this season, but he also scored in both games against Chelsea last season.
- Rayan Cherki: The match-winner at Forest is in form, having notched up two goals and four assists in his last six appearances.
- Phil Foden: The Englishman had started to look back to his best in his team’s recent run, albeit he will be looking to pick things up again, having failed to register a goal or assist in his last three games.
Manchester City Team News
Egypt’s Omar Marmoush and Algeria’s Rayan Ait-Nouri are both away at the Africa Cup of Nations. With regards to injuries, centre-back John Stones could be back from a muscle injury. Other potential returns to the team are wide men Jeremy Doku (leg injury) and Oscar Bobb (muscle injury).
Former Chelsea man Mateo Kovacic has been out with an ankle injury and is not expected to be back in time for this game.
Chelsea Current Form - LWWDL
Chelsea’s form has generally dipped since going up to second in the table in November. They have won one of their last six league games, and in the first of their last five games overall, they were beaten 2-1 at Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League.
This was followed by a 2-0 win at home to Everton in the league and a 1-3 success at Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup. They failed to win their next two however, drawing 2-2 at Newcastle and losing 1-2 at home to Aston Villa.
Key Players to Watch
- Cole Palmer: The attacking midfielder returns to the club he left to join Chelsea in 2023/24. He scored a penalty in his first match against City that season, but is yet to score against them since.
- Joao Pedro: The Brazilian had scored in both of the last two matches going into the game at home to Bournemouth, and with three goals in his last four starts, the forward is starting to find some form.
- Reece James: While James is a right-back by trade, he could be moved into midfield, and a potential battle against City’s midfield which often dominates possession could be the key to this game.
Chelsea Team News
Left-back Marc Cucurella was a doubt for the Bournemouth game after coming off against Aston Villa with a hamstring injury. Midfielders Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo are not expected to be back in time from respective thigh injuries, while centre-back Levi Colwill (cruciate) is a long-term absentee.
Predicted Line-Ups
Manchester City: 4-1-4-1
Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Cherki, Reijnders, Silva, Foden; HaalandChelsea: 4-2-3-1
Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Gusto; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Garnacho; Pedro
Suggested Bets
Here are some of our suggestions for Sunday’s game, with odds provided by some of the top football sportsbooks:
Man City to win and both teams to score: City have won eight games in a row and Chelsea have scored and conceded in four of their last five games (William Hill 2/1)
Erling Haaland to score any time: Haaland is top scorer in the league this season with 19 goals and scored in both games against Chelsea last season (BetMGM 10/13)
Manchester City -1 handicap: City won both fixtures against Chelsea by two goals last season and have won all of their last three home games by two goals or more (Bet442 19/10)
Value Bets
Both teams to score - No: City have kept clean sheets in all of their last three home games (Midnite 6/4)
Goal range 2-3: The total number of goals in all of City’s last six matches have fallen into this category (Unibet 23/20)
Joao Pedro to score any time: The Chelsea forward has scored in three of his last four starts (LeoVegas 5/2)
Prediction: Man City to win and both teams to score
Chelsea are often quite inconsistent in games, so it is feasible to see them getting on the scoresheet, but City in this kind of form should be too strong for them.
David Cook is a Freelance Writer who works across a range of media-related roles in the gaming industry; a space David has worked in since 2014. David is a former editor of a B2B gaming publication. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist and also holds a degree in sports journalism.
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