Pep Guardiola’s side face another tough task this week as Chelsea visit the Etihad stadium hoping to disrupt the title race.

Two teams with differing goals face off this weekend in what is sure to be an interesting clash.

In a preview of the League Cup final Manchester City play Chelsea this Sunday and the match is certain to have huge ramifications on the title race.

Latest Odds

Manchester City are favourites for this game and are available to back at odds of 9/20(1.45). Chelsea are the outsiders at a massive 11/2(6.50) and the draw is available at 7/2(4.50).

Team News

City are still without Claudio Bravo and Vincent Kompany due to injury. The reigning champions rotated midweek with Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne being rested so expect those two to return.

Chelsea have a fully fit squad and new signing Gonzalo Higuain will be desperate to add to his brace against Huddersfield last week. An interesting point will be to see how N’golo Kante is utilised in this game as Mauricio Sarri has been criticised.

Preview

Manchester City have to play after Liverpool this weekend and if the Reds dispatch of Bournemouth as they are expected to Pep Guardiola will once again be playing catch up when City kick-off against Chelsea.

Chelsea’s main aim is the top four and with Manchester United continuously improving the Blues hopes of a Champions League spot next season seem more and more unlikely.

Sarri’s men were revitalised in their win against Huddersfield but with the Terriers being the worst team in the league that doesn’t hold too much merit.

Guardiola is wary of this Chelsea side and thinks that the fixture congestion that his team have had to put up with could put them at a disadvantage. “We started well with Arsenal and Everton, but now comes a really, really big test - a big bull.” The Spaniard said.

“Chelsea is an exceptional team with seven days to prepare that game. We will try. We have to prepare well. This is a real final for us this weekend.

“If we are able to take these points, we are going to take a huge step forward.”

Prediction

Man City are the best team in the league and they showed what they can do against Arsenal last week. Chelsea have been poor as of late and the Huddersfield result hides the fact that the wheels have been falling off at Stamford Bridge for some time now.

Both sides are waiting on other results this weekend and if they go as expected then they both have ground to make up in their respective quests. It’s hard to look past City for this match but from a betting perspective it is easy to see where the value is.

Using Betdynamo’s industry-leading insights you can see stats from the Premier League that show that Man City to be leading at half time at evens (2.00) is a good bet.

Man City score in the first half in 100% of their home games whilst Chelsea only do it in 50% of their away fixtures. Factor in that Chelsea are coming up against one of the best defences in the league and you’ve got yourself a good value selection.