Crouchy’s Shouts: Haaland on target in this 25/1 Chelsea v Man City punt

Big game on Thursday night - and we've got the big man on it

By / Football Tips, Premier League / 1 year ago

Crouchy’s Shouts for Chelsea v Man City

Thursday, January 5, 8pm, Live on Sky Sports Main Event

  • Man City to Win
  • Erling Haaland to Score
  • Kevin De Bruyne to Assist
  • Chelsea Over 2.5 Cards
  • Chelsea Over 4.5 Corners

*A Bet Builder on these selections adds up to 25/1 on PaddyPower.com. TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP INSTANTLY

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You would worry about where Chelsea are going. Their form’s been indifferent but they need Champions League football and have spent money for it.

They’ll probably be linked with every man and his dog in January too, but is that the answer? It reminds me of Man United in recent years a bit, where they could go out and try to spend their way out of trouble.

I like Graham Potter, but I’m not sure how much decision-making he’s got on transfers. They’ll need to give him time and licence to get the players he wants in.

He may not know his best team yet too – he knew the players he could trust at Brighton but he still has to get that at Chelsea. He’s trying out a lot of different teams and formations because of that.

They had Havertz, Pulisic and Sterling starting against Forest. Individually, they’re top class but they don’t add up to the sum of their parts.

Graham Potter

Reece James was a shoo-in for the England team and has been great for Chelsea this season but he’s out now as well, and they have a few other injuries. It’s not ideal when Man City are coming to town.

They drew with Everton at the weekend but I’ve been to the Etihad before with Stoke and winning 1-0 when we’d been absolutely battered all game and got a breakaway goal. We came away wondering how on earth we won!

I’m doing Everton a bit of a disservice there because they did defend really well and they were structured and disciplined.

But it happens even for the best teams, you struggle to break down opponents like that sometimes. That was just the case for City on Saturday.

The problem for Chelsea now is they could face the backlash. City are still the best team in the league still, even if they’re not top of the league now.

Chelsea’s players could get a lift from playing the champions in a big game – in some ways it might suit Chelsea because the expectation is that City will win – but City should be comfortable.

I love players that play on the edge, and we saw Erling Haaland do that against Everton. He was really fired up, but I like to see that – all the best players I’ve played with have that in their game.

You know that they could just spill over Haaland showed that on Saturday.

The Premier League seems to sometimes miss that win-at-all-costs mentality now, but he showed it against Everton and I think we’ll see more of it against Chelsea. It should get him another goal – at least.

Mahrez and Grealish have been playing alongside him recently, and we could see Foden get back in too. They’ve so many threats though, you could even forget about Kevin De Bruyne sometimes but he’s as likely as anyone to link up with Haaland for an assist.

I could see a few cards in this. Chelsea players know they need to put in a performance the way results have been going. I can see challenges going in early in the midfield as they try to get into the game.

And, with Chelsea needing to come out on the front foot at home, you would expect them to win a few corners even if City end up winning.

Crouchy’s Chelsea v Man City Bet Builder

Thursday, January 5, 8pm, Live on Sky Sports Main Event

  • Man City to Win
  • Erling Haaland to Score
  • Kevin De Bruyne to Assist
  • Chelsea Over 2.5 Cards
  • Chelsea Over 4.5 Corners

*A Bet Builder on these selections adds up to 25/1 on PaddyPower.com. TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP INSTANTLY

*A previous version of this piece linked to incorrect markets and has been corrected. All odds quoted are correct at time of publication but subject to change*

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