Chelsea v Man City: Friendly form favours Premier League champions
Published:Manchester City tied up a maiden Premier League title last season, and as such are unsurprising 8/13 favourites to lift the Community Shield this Sunday.
City are perhaps more tempting at 5/4 to win the game within 90 minutes, and their five consecutive friendly wins of late bode well for the Citizens.
Chelsea, in contrast, have won just one pre-season match, against American outfit Seattle Sounders, and have lost their last three games in succession.
With the last of these a 3-1 loss to Championship side Brighton, it is understandable that punters may wish to avoid the Blues in normal time at 11/5 on Sunday.
Penalties would ensue should the 9/4 odds about a draw be fulfilled, and it may be noteworthy that Chelsea’s last competitive fixture ended in victory by this means.
Therefore, the Champions League winners could appeal to some at 6/5 to lift the shield, should they be able to shut out City in 90 minutes.
That may prove easier said than done however, with the champions, who scored 93 league goals last term, having notched on 13 occasions in their last five friendlies.
Roberto Mancini’s men most commonly racked up three-goal hauls during the last campaign, and they are a tempting 6/4 to put two or three past Chelsea on Sunday.
Roberto Di Matteo’s men have been uncharacteristically sloppy in defence this pre-season too, shipping 10 goals in five pre-season outings.
They have scored eight times also though, and the 8/13 about both teams finding the net at Villa Park seems appealing.
For braver punters who feel a dominant City win is in the offing though, a 3-0 scoreline in favour of the champions returns at a big 20/1.
This was the result by which Mancini’s men most often triumphed by during the 2011/2012 season.
Meanwhile, a vast array of first scorer options are available on this match, with Ladbrokes refunding losing first and last scorer bets if Sergio Aguero opens the scoring.
Aguero himself is 5/1 favourite to break the deadlock, with fellow Argentinian Carlos Tevez the next most favourable as a 6/1 chance.
For Chelsea, 10/1 shot Eden Hazard will see support on his full debut, whilst Team GB star Daniel Sturridge is a 9/1 hope.
Both come behind 7/1 Fernando Torres though, who will hope to pick up where he left off after a highly successful summer with Spain.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
