Football Bet of the Day: Chelsea to find success again vs Man City

The international break in the men’s game means there isn't too much football action today, but we do have two major Women's Champions League quarter-finals taking place. Real Madrid stunned Arsenal on Tuesday night with a 2-0 win, and tonight we’ve got an all-English clash between Manchester City and Chelsea to look forward to, as well as Wolfsburg vs Barcelona. 

That takes our focus for the Football Bet of the Day for Wednesday night, with these two meeting at 20:00 on TNT Sports 1, live from the Etihad Campus. 

Manchester City vs Chelsea Odds

Having met in the League Cup final on Saturday, Manchester City and Chelsea will do battle again, this time in the Champions League. Sonia Bompastor’s side are still fighting on all fronts and could complete a historic quadruple this season, having secured a 2-1 win over City at Pride Park. 

That game was one with plenty of chances at both ends and although Chelsea were probably the better team overall, they needed a fortunate own goal to secure the cup, having been pegged back by Aoba Fujino’s wonderful individual effort. 

It’s been a rocky few days for Man City. Manager Gareth Taylor was sacked just five days before the final, with the club sitting fourth in the WSL, 12 points behind leaders Chelsea. Although they would like to be closer to the title race, City are in the FA Cup semi-finals, the Champions League quarter-finals and made it to the final of the League Cup - so the sacking seems harsh on paper. 

They’ve got a talented squad, and it's one that returning interim boss Nick Cushing will try and motivate to success over the next few weeks. However, they face the toughest team in English football yet again tonight and I can’t see them raising the performance levels to be able to take something from Chelsea here, even in front of their home fans. 

The Blues could have and should have been a couple of goals in front at Pride Park before the second half began. Mayra Ramirez’s pace caused them all sorts of problems and she rounded the keeper but inexplicably fired wide from close range, wasting a golden opportunity to double Chelsea’s lead. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd was then played through by Erin Cuthbert but couldn’t convert so the game really should have been beyond the reach of City before the hour mark. 

Football Odds

They deserve credit for their fightback, and could have gone ahead themselves through Bunny Shaw, but ultimately lost the game late on. This brings me to the next point in why I am backing the away side to come out victorious in this first leg - Shaw and Fujino have both been ruled out by Cushing, having picked up muscle injuries.

"They're two significant players that are missing [but] these moments give opportunities for other players.

"Both of them are muscle injuries. It's going to take a few days to diagnose how long. I think they're significant, but will leave it with the medical team."

Vivianne Miedema, now back fit and firing, will have to step up to the plate from a goalscoring perspective, and I do still think City can create enough chances to find the net on home soil. However, Chelsea should prove to be too strong for them, and can come away with a first leg lead from this Champions League tie. 

Offers

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You can read all our latest Football Bet of the Day at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.