FA Cup Semifinal: Man City vs Chelsea Betting Preview
City Crash Out of Champions League
Manchester City crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday when they lost to Real Madrid in penalties following a 1-1 draw. Pep Guardiola and City will need to regroup quickly, as they take on Chelsea in the FA Cup Semifinal on Saturday. Cole Palmer, formerly of Manchester City, scored four goals in Chelsea’s last match and has been superb this season. Stay tuned for our Man City vs Chelsea betting preview as the Blues look for their first win over the Cityzens since the 2021 Champions League Final.
Manchester City vs Chelsea
Date, time:
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Man City vs Chelsea Head-to-Head
This is the second meeting on the FA Cup schedule between Man City and Chelsea in as many seasons. Last January, Man City destroyed Chelsea 4-0 in the Third Round as Riyad Mahrez scored twice. City have been the better pick for Man City vs Chelsea betting lately. Man City are unbeaten in their last eight games vs. Chelsea, in all competitions. However, both Premier League meetings this season finished in draws.
Man City Regroup After UCL Exit
Manchester City are the first team in English football history to reach six consecutive FA Cup Semifinals. However, they’ve only reached the final under Guardiola twice, in 2019 and last season, when they defeated Manchester United in the Final. Coming off Wednesday’s Champions League loss, Man City will want to get back on track with a victory here. In that match at the Etihad vs. Real Madrid, City fell behind early on.
Kyle Walker failed to properly track Rodrygo’s run and Ederson saved his initial effort. However, the Brazilian made no mistake of finishing off the rebound. Kevin De Bruyne equalized for City in the second half and the match went into extra time. With both teams’ biggest attacking threats subbed off, neither team found a breakthrough in the extra 30 minutes. In penalty kicks, Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin saved efforts from Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic as Real won 4-3.
City are sitting atop the Premier League and can defend their FA Cup title in what still has the potential to be a successful season. So far, the FA Cup bracket 2024 has paired City vs. Huddersfield, Tottenham, Luton Town and Newcastle United. Most recently, City defeated Newcastle 2-0 behind a Silva double. Backup keeper Stefan Ortega leads the competition with three clean sheets.
Chelsea Scoring at Impressive Pace
Chelsea destroyed Everton 6-0 at Stamford Bridge on Monday behind an incredible four goal effort from Cole Palmer. Two weeks ago, Palmer scored Chelsea’s first ever first half Premier League hat trick in a 4-3 victory over Manchester United. He managed another first half hat trick vs. Everton and added a penalty for good measure. The only blemish on the night for Chelsea was Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson fighting with Palmer and captain Conor Gallagher to take the penalty.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino chastised Madueke and Jackson and reiterated that Palmer is the designated penalty taker, given his perfect record. He’s also been one of the best players in England this season and is level with former teammate Erling Haaland in the Premier League Golden Boot race. After scoring seven times in his last three matches, Palmer has found the net 20 times in the EPL. He’s also managed a goal contribution in each of his last six games overall.
He’s only scored once in five FA Cup appearances, though, as Enzo Fernandez, Jackson and Gallagher are level on two FA Cup goals. Chelsea’s FA Cup scores have been impressive, as they’ve scored at least three goals in each of their last three games. In the Quarter-Final, they beat Leicester City 4-2 behind two stoppage time goals from Carney Chukwuemeka and Madueke. Chelsea have scored at least twice in their last eight games, in all competitions.
Man City vs Chelsea Match Analysis & Odds
Playing at Wembley may favor London locals Chelsea a bit but this will still be a tough match for them. Man City still haven’t lost a 90 minute match for over five months despite the penalty kick loss on Wednesday. The latest Man City vs Chelsea betting odds price City as -175 favorites to win this one in regulation.
Meanwhile, the defending FA Cup champions show -500 odds to qualify for the Final once again. Chelsea are +420 moneyline underdogs and they sit at just +350 odds to go through to their fourth FA Cup final in the last five seasons. The last time these two sides met in an FA Cup Semifinal, Manchester City were victorious.
Bettors may fancy Manchester City -1 at -115 odds or Chelsea +1 at -110. While City are on a long unbeaten streak, apart from extra time, Chelsea haven’t lost since late February. Both teams are among England’s most in form teams and this could be one with a few goals. Both over and under three goals are priced at -115 odds, while a draw stands at +320.
