Manchester City vs Chelsea English Premier League preview
Added September 24th, 2010 by Ian SOCCER 
Even though its just the sixth game of the season, Sept. 25ths English Premier League match between Manchester City and Chelsea at Eastlands is crucial for City and manger Roberto Mancini. A loss at home to league-leading Chelsea would see fourth-place City fall 10 points behind them in the title race and that wont sit well with City fans and their owner.Chelseas been red hot to start the new season with a perfect record of five wins, but theyve all come against some of the dregs of the Premier League. They were faced with a bit of a stiffer test on Wednesday in the Carling Cup and failed it as they lost 4-3 to Newcastle. However, some of the regulars werent dressed.The club also lost Salomon Kalou and Yossi Benayoun to muscle injuries in that match and its unsure how long theyll be out. Frank Lampard is likely to miss the trip to Manchester as well, but captain and defender John Terry is back.So far, it appears scoring goals and keeping them out hasnt been a problem for the London club as theyve outscored their opposition 21-2 in their league games. Florent Malouda has started the season on fire as he has six goals already, while only scoring 12 all of last season. Chelseas pretty strong at the back and keeper Petr Cech is one of the best in the league, well, in the world for that matter.City has gotten off to a mediocre start by dropping seven points already. Theyve drawn with Spurs and Blackburn and have been beaten by Sunderland. Their wins came against Liverpool (3-0) and Wigan (2-0). They also lost 2-1 to West Brom in the Carling Cup this week.City is hurting at the back and may have only three fit defenders for the game as Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, and Jerome boating may be out. But striker Emmanuel Adebayor could be back. The status of Sh! aun Wrig ht-Phillips, Aleksander Kolarov, and Mario Balotelli is up in the air.However, its doubtful, anybody feels sorry for City as theyve shelled out about a billion dollars on players over the past couple of season and theres no reason they shouldnt have a full squad ready.Mancini has been criticized for his handling of the team since he took over and has recently been blamed for the teams current rash of injuries due to his training methods. Hes walking on thin ice and it may just crack underneath him with a loss here.
Manchester City vs Chelsea Betting Odds and PredictionsChelsea has enough scoring strength with Malouda, Didier Drogba, and Nicolas Anelka in the lineup to do some damage and should be able to win this game by about 3-1 if Citys going with a patchwork defence. City will need to rely on players such as Carlos Tevez, James Milner and Adam Johnson to create some offence and may need a big game from keeper Joe Hart.Sportsbook William Hill has the odds of a Man City win at 12/5, with a Chelsea win at 6/5 and a draw at 11/5.
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Even though its just the sixth game of the season, Sept. 25ths English Premier League match between Manchester City and Chelsea at Eastlands is crucial for City and manger Roberto Mancini. A loss at home to league-leading Chelsea would see fourth-place City fall 10 points behind them in the title race and that wont sit well with City fans and their owner.Chelseas been red hot to start the new season with a perfect record of five wins, but theyve all come against some of the dregs of the Premier League. They were faced with a bit of a stiffer test on Wednesday in the Carling Cup and failed it as they lost 4-3 to Newcastle. However, some of the regulars werent dressed.The club also lost Salomon Kalou and Yossi Benayoun to muscle injuries in that match and its unsure how long theyll be out. Frank Lampard is likely to miss the trip to Manchester as well, but captain and defender John Terry is back.So far, it appears scoring goals and keeping them out hasnt been a problem for the London club as theyve outscored their opposition 21-2 in their league games. Florent Malouda has started the season on fire as he has six goals already, while only scoring 12 all of last season. Chelseas pretty strong at the back and keeper Petr Cech is one of the best in the league, well, in the world for that matter.City has gotten off to a mediocre start by dropping seven points already. Theyve drawn with Spurs and Blackburn and have been beaten by Sunderland. Their wins came against Liverpool (3-0) and Wigan (2-0). They also lost 2-1 to West Brom in the Carling Cup this week.City is hurting at the back and may have only three fit defenders for the game as Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, and Jerome boating may be out. But striker Emmanuel Adebayor could be back. The status of Sh! aun Wrig ht-Phillips, Aleksander Kolarov, and Mario Balotelli is up in the air.However, its doubtful, anybody feels sorry for City as theyve shelled out about a billion dollars on players over the past couple of season and theres no reason they shouldnt have a full squad ready.Mancini has been criticized for his handling of the team since he took over and has recently been blamed for the teams current rash of injuries due to his training methods. Hes walking on thin ice and it may just crack underneath him with a loss here.Manchester City vs Chelsea Betting Odds and PredictionsChelsea has enough scoring strength with Malouda, Didier Drogba, and Nicolas Anelka in the lineup to do some damage and should be able to win this game by about 3-1 if Citys going with a patchwork defence. City will need to rely on players such as Carlos Tevez, James Milner and Adam Johnson to create some offence and may need a big game from keeper Joe Hart.Sportsbook William Hill has the odds of a Man City win at 12/5, with a Chelsea win at 6/5 and a draw at 11/5.
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