It’s the first Super Sunday of the Premier League season and champions Man City make their way to west London to take on Pep protege Enzo Maresca in his first game as Chelsea gaffer.
Paddy’s pal Peter Crouch has cast his lofty gaze over the two sides after a summer of comings-and-goings and delivered his Chelsea v Man City Bet Builder where, rest assured, our smashing Super Sub offer applies…
Chelsea v Man City Betting Tips
Man City to win
Erling Haaland to score
Cole Palmer to score or assist
Enzo Fernandez to commit 1+ fouls
- A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 10/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
WHEN: Sunday, August 18 – 4:30pm
WHERE: Stamford Bridge, London
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
I don’t know how any manager could handle a squad like Chelsea’s at the moment. How can you tell players they are going to start every week?
When you’re in the team, whatever you do, you’d be looking over your shoulder and never feel safe. As much as people say it’s good to keep players on their toes, sometimes you want to feel a little bit more settled than that.
There’s so much quality in there though. The question is can they gel that all together. They’ve signed Pedro Neto this week. I really like him, he’s a great player but the squad’s up over 40 players. I don’t know how you’re going to keep them happy.
Lots of people are tipping them at top four now because of the players they’ve got, and there’s no denying it, they should be top four with the players they’ve got, but I don’t think it helps when you have too many in a squad – I’ve seen it become very toxic when big players aren’t playing. It’s a difficult situation for anyone to manage.
Frank Lampard and Mauricio Pochettino found that out at Chelsea before. Obviously Enzo Maresca’s been a fantastic manager at Leicester, but he’s got a big job on his hands trying to knit this all together.
And the first game of the season being Man City is a tough ask, even at home.
The thing with City is they’ve rested a lot of players in preseason who were at the Euros. It’s the right decision to give them a rest in my view. It’s Guardiola’s way, he believes a mental rest for players is important, and takes a break himself too.
You see the benefits as City always seem to come up with a ridiculous run towards the end of the season, but, at the start of the season, it means there’s an opportunity to get at them and that gives Chelsea some hope.
(L to R) Manchester City’s Spanish assistant manager Carlos Vicens, Manchester City’s Italian assistant manager Enzo Maresca, Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola and Manchester City’s Spanish assistant manager Rodolfo Borrell attend a training session on September 13, 2022 at the Manchester City training ground in Manchester on the eve of the UEFA Champions League group G football match between England’s Manchester City and Germany’s Borussia Dortmund. (Photo by Lindsey Parnaby / AFP) (Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP via Getty Images)
The new manager has also worked with Guardiola before, so that should count for something. So many players and coaches, like Mikel Arteta, have worked with Pep and will have learned a lot. That master versus the pupil aspect means Maresca might know the system, but trying to beat the system is something entirely different.
And despite any changes at City or other clubs, I think they’ll win another league title this season.
Oscar Bobb has this injury now, which is disappointing for him as he’s looked good in preseason, but you see their young players come to the fore when they need them to step up, and, besides Alvarez, they’ve kept most of the stars of last year. They’ve still got Bernardo Grealish, Foden, Doku, they’ve added Savinho too, so I expect them to win it again.
Man City to win
And they’ll start their title defence with a win on Sunday.
Chelsea will run them close with the talent they have but I think City will be the dominant side. Chelsea should score, but we all know how strong City are and it should be three points for them in the end.
Erling Haaland to score
They’ve a fully fit and rested Erling Haaland raring to go as well.
He didn’t score last weekend so the chances are he does this week. I could even see him getting a couple.
Cole Palmer to score or assist
For Chelsea, Cole Palmer looks the most likely to impact the game. He’s probably the best signing that they’ve made, and that’s something considering they’ve signed about 150 players!
He’s a class act. Even when he came off the bench in the Euros, he was so calm. They breed young players differently now, he looks so cool and in control.
And obviously the impact he had last year was unbelievable, to be able to dominate games, and to win games almost on his own at times. The amount of goals he scored and created, the way he’s playing for England, he’s going to be a key player for club and country now.
Enzo Fernandez to commit 1+ fouls
I can see a few tackles and cards in this game. Rodri might not be fully fit after his rest following the Euros so it’s not clear that he’ll play. On Chelsea’s side, Enzo Fernandez looks the most likely to come to the ref’s attention and I’ll take him to make at least one foul.
Crouchy’s Chelsea v Man City Bet Builder
Man City to win
Erling Haaland to score
Cole Palmer to score or assist
Enzo Fernandez to commit 1+ fouls
- A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 10/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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