Sunday 21st February 2016 Kickoff: 1600hrs Chelsea v Manchester City Football – England – FA Cup
This was always going to be the tie of the fifth round when the draw was made, and whilst neither Chelsea or Manchester City have enjoyed the season to date, there is more than enough to suggest this will be an intriguing match-up. The two last met in this competition a couple of years ago when City ran out comfortable 2-0 winners at the Etihad.
Chelsea may have lost 2-1 against PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but the performance was another step in the right direction and they remain in with a very good chance of progressing to the quarter-finals having scored a vital away goal. It could have been even better for the blues but it’s probably a result that they would have taken before the game. Guus Hiddink was in confident mood following the first leg and believes his team have what it takes to turn the tie in their favour at Stamford Bridge. Attention turns back to domestic matters on Sunday and probably the best chance of a trophy that Chelsea have this season. Two wins over lower league opposition in previous rounds has gotten them to this stage meaning it’s a massive step up in terms of the standard of opponent they face, but the crucial thing in the latter rounds of these cups is playing at home which is exactly what Chelsea have been afforded.
The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a nightmare in an overall disappointing season for Manuel Pellegrini and his Manchester City players. Successive home defeats to Leicester and Tottenham have left their title hopes hanging by a thread with a six point deficit to make up. With 12 games left to play, there is still more than enough football for City to make up that gap but the bigger concerns are that the losses came against two of their title rivals, and the manner of the defeats is also troubling. Although the performance against Spurs was an improvement on the week before, there was a certain inevitably about the whole 90 minutes. I mentioned in my preview of last week’s game that there is an argument to be made that City just want this season out the way ahead of the well-publicised change in manager. Before that happens, however, there is the small matter of the FA Cup and Champions League to negotiate, as well as those dozen league games.
The FA Cup will hold fond memories for Hiddink as it remains the only trophy he won during his first spell in charge of Chelsea back in 2009. The club have won it another couple of times since then and are currently third favourites to win it for the first time since 2012. The Dutch coach tasted defeat for the first time since his return towards the end of last year in Paris on Tuesday which is an indication of how much more united the team are compared to earlier in the season. John Terry will again be absent for this game after suffering an injury last weekend, and although the Chelsea defence played well for much of the Champions League game, the second goal they conceded came as a result of a ball played down the inside left channel – an area Terry would usually patrol.
Pellegrini has already stated that the cup tie with Chelsea is not his priority with the first-leg of their Champions League last-16 game against Dynamo Kiev, in the Ukraine, coming up on Wednesday. City have an ever-growing injury list which is also not helping so it could be a much-changed side that takes the field on Sunday. Their passage up until this stage has been extremely smooth, too, with a two resounding victories away to Premier League strugglers Norwich and Aston Villa. One man who will very likely play from the start is teenage striker Kelechi Iheanacho who already has four goals in this season’s competition, including a hat-trick in the last round. He also came off the bench to score an equaliser in the defeat to Spurs last week and has been one constant bright spot in an otherwise underwhelming campaign for City.
Chelsea v Manchester City Betting Tips
There is a case to be made that the timing of this game could have made it more of a spectacle as it comes in the middle of both club’s Champions League commitments. I think it’s a fair assessment to suggest that Chelsea have definitely benefited from the scheduling of it as it comes five days after their first-leg game whilst it’s only three days before City’s venture to Easter Europe. There is also the fact that Chelsea have a much deeper squad at present, which has been a real frustration for Pellegrini over the last few weeks.
The last time the two met, City proved far too good with an emphatic 3-0 win over the then Jose Mourinho managed Chelsea last August. At the time it appeared to be a signal of intent in a game between the two most-fancied sides in the race for the Premier League. As things have transpired, however, it looks to be very unlikely that either of them will be finishing top of the pile in May.
I have made not of a distinct improvement in Chelsea’s performances over the last month and I think that remains the case even accounting for the defeat to PSG. Diego Costa looks a lot more threatening, whilst Cesc Fabregas and Willian are creating plenty of chances for the striker. City are up against it, in my book, and even with the talents of Sergio Aguero and Iheanacho, I am looking to oppose them for the second straight week and make Chelsea the selection. I would also advise backing them to go on and win the whole competition ahead of Sunday’s game – they can be backed at a tempting 6/1 with Boylesports, outright.
Chelsea 5/6 @ Betfred
