EFL Cup: Can Struggling Chelsea Stop Man City Steamroller?

Manchester City vs Chelsea

Two of the most successful clubs in recent EFL Cup history will clash in the third round as Manchester City host Chelsea.

City, the eight-time champions of the competition, six of which have come in the last eight years, crashed out early last year and will be keen to reclaim their crown.

But first they must get past Chelsea, who lost in last year’s final to Liverpool in a penalty shootout and have also reached the final in three of the last eight seasons.

However, the EFL Cup 2022 betting odds will not favour Graham Potter’s side, who are suddenly struggling after a strong start under their new manager.

Talking Points

Man City on the march again

Manchester City suffered a bit of a scare over the weekend as they nearly dropped points at home to Fulham. After going ahead through Julian Alvarez, the champions went down to 10 men as Joao Cancelo was sent off before the half-hour mark, and Andreas Pereira scored the ensuing penalty.

But Erling Haaland came to City’s rescue as he came on as a substitute and scored a stoppage-time penalty to give them all three points. Since suffering their first and only loss to Liverpool, City are unbeaten in their last five games, with four wins and remain hot on Arsenal’s heels.

Alvarez has done brilliantly in place of Haaland, who has not started in City’s last three games as he recovers from recent knocks. The young Argentine has two goals and two assists over his last two games. However, Haaland could finally be set to return to the starting line-up in midweek.

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola will have more reshuffling to do in defence with Cancelo set to be suspended for his red card. Nathan Ake is the favourite to fill in at left-back, with Ruben Dias set to return at centre-back.

And in midfield, Kevin de Bruyne has been in fantastic form of late and could be tasked to start against his old team amid City’s dearth of midfield depth.

Potter’s Chelsea suddenly struggling

Chelsea’s new manager bounce under Graham Potter appears to be over. After three straight Premier League wins as Blues boss, Potter’s side have gone winless in their last four in the league, with back-to-back draws with Brentford and Manchester United followed by back-to-back defeats to Brighton and to leaders Arsenal.

Chelsea’s rash of injuries finally seems to be catching up with them. Left-back Ben Chilwell was the latest to join a lengthy list of injury casualties that already includes N’Golo Kante, Reece James, and Wesley Fofana.

Like James, Chilwell’s hamstring injury will see him miss the World Cup, which is another blow to England’s shrinking full-back depth.

Meanwhile, Potter has yet to find a solution to Chelsea’s ongoing concerns in attack. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hasn’t scored in the league since his Chelsea debut against Crystal Palace in October.

Raheem Sterling’s drought is even longer as he hasn’t scored domestically since late August. Although, the former City man will surely be desperate to get one over on his old club.

Potter altered his formation from a 3-4-2-1 to a 4-2-3-1 against Arsenal in hopes of jumpstarting his misfiring attack, but it did not work as they were outshot 14-5 (2-1 shots on target) at home.

Potter may turn to the likes of Christian Pulisic and Conor Gallagher with the hope of finding someone who can produce EFL Cup 2022 highlights.

History

Manchester City did the double over Chelsea last season, with the champions winning both matches 1-0.

However, the Blues had gotten the better of City prior to last season, winning four of their previous five meetings. That includes their FA Cup semi-final, as well as the Champions League final in 2021.

This will be the first EFL Cup meeting between the two teams since they met in the final in 2019. The game went into penalties after a goalless draw

Betting Tip

SBOTOP odds have Manchester City installed as significant 1.50 favourites to win this tie. Chelsea are priced at 4.60, while a draw is 4.60.

The last few games between Chelsea and Man City have been quite low-scoring – just one goal in four of the last five – and this match figures to be similar.

Potter and Chelsea will be desperate to put on a competitive fight as they look to end their recent slump. And with Pep Guardiola possibly set to rotate his side, a potentially less-than-full-strength City could have a battle on their hands against the Blues.

 

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