Manchester City beat Fulham in dramatic fashion at the weekend to keep pace with Arsenal at the Premier League summit.
Chelsea lost to the Gunners on Sunday, as Graham Potter’s honeymoon period came to an abrupt end with back-to-back Premier League defeats.
The Blues are struggling with several key injuries ahead of their midweek clash with Manchester City.
The hosts are without Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips and Joao Cancelo, who was sent off in the win over Fulham on Saturday.
First Goalscorer: Julian Alvarez
Scorer in each of City’s last two matches, Julian Alvarez is in line for another start on Wednesday night.
Erling Haaland was only fit enough to come off the bench at the weekend, and Pep Guardiola won’t be keen to risk the Norwegian phenom here.
Alvarez has six goals in seven starts for Manchester City this season.
Chelsea are rightly considerable underdogs for this one, and with City expected to score first, Alvarez is a good price to be the man to put the hosts in front.
To Be Shown A Card: Denis Zakaria
Expected to slot in at the base of Chelsea’s midfield with Jorginho likely to rest, Denis Zakaria has his work cut out to stay out of the referee’s notebook.
Zakaria has been short on game time since joining Chelsea on loan, and City are a nightmare opponent if a player is slightly sluggish.
The former Gladbach midfielder averaged 1.7 fouls per 90 in Serie A for Juventus last season. He has also had three Bundesliga campaigns with seven or more bookings.
Both Teams To Score: Yes
This fixture will be more relaxed than it would be in the Premier League, and both teams could be pretty open as a result.
Both teams have scored in City’s last three home matches, and BTTS landed in four straight for Chelsea prior to their 1-0 loss to Arsenal.
All odds are subject to change