Man City vs Chelsea Bet Builder Tips: Palmer to serve City another reminder

Manchester City's dreams of a back-to-back treble were dashed on Wednesday as Real Madrid knocked them out of the Champions League, but there's still plenty left for the Citizens to play for with an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday (KO, 17:15) next on their agenda.

The game will be shown live on BBC One and you can build up to the big game by checking out Paul Robinson's Man City vs Chelsea bet builder tips. The former England number one's three-leg bet builder, using Betfred's #PickYourPunt feature, offers odds of 13/2.

Cole Palmer to score anytime (90 mins)

It's been some season so far for Manchester City academy graduate Cole Palmer, who has flourished - and then some - for Chelsea since making a big-money move from the Etihad last summer. Pep Guardiola and co knew the talent the Wythenshawe-forward possessed but were unable to convince him to bide his time on the east side of Manchester, and the Spaniard's loss has been Mauricio Pochettino's gain.

Four goals in a 6-0 win over Everton at Stamford Bridge on Monday night brought Palmer level with his former teammate Erling Haaland at the top of the Premier League scoring charts and he now has 25 in all competitions this season, two of which were scored for City - one in the FA Community Shield against Arsenal and one in the UEFA Super Cup versus Sevilla.

The England international only has one goal to his name in the FA Cup so far but it did come in the previous round as Chelsea beat Leicester City 4-2 to set up a semi-final showdown with City at Wembley.

Palmer has 11 goals in his last six appearances, only failing to get on the scoresheet in a 2-2 draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, where he was substituted in the 74th minute as Pochettino looked to manage his minutes with the games coming thick and fast.

It's hard to see the Argentine withdrawing Palmer on Saturday, though, with the semi-final being the most important match of his reign so far.

Palmer showed supreme composure to score from the spot in the 95th minute against City in the 4-4 thriller between the sides in November, and his ability from 12 yards out - and further - marks him out as a huge danger to the Citizens' goal again this weekend.

Man City to win (90 mins)

Man City exited the Champions League after a penalty shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid in midweek, but it's important to remember they did actually draw the game in regulation time, which means they have still not been beaten since a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on December 6.

Their last 28 games have seen them win 22 times and draw the other six, with their usual second-half-of-the-season instincts kicking in as soon as silverware can be spotted in the distance.

Chelsea will take confidence from the fact that they have twice denied them victory this season, snatching a late draw at Stamford Bridge in their first Premier League meeting before being denied a win at the Etihad late on in February's 1-1 draw.

Since that stalemate, the Blues have lost just once in in nine games - a 1-0 defeat after extra time to Liverpool in the EFL Cup final immediately after - but that doesn't tell the whole story.

Their eight-match unbeaten run coming into this fixture includes a hat-trick of 2-2 draws, all against relegation candidates in Brentford, Burnley - who had 10 men for over half of the contest - and Sheffield United, and late wins over second-tier sides in Leeds United and Leicester.

After being denied the chance of completing back-to-back trebles, City are bound to have their eyes fixed firmly on a double now, with Guardiola seeking a third FA Cup winners medal.

Over 5.5 corners (90 mins)

There were corners aplenty between these two in February, with Man City awarded 12 and Chelsea one to make it 13 corners in the 90-plus minutes played.

The previous meeting in November saw six corners, three on either side, and that's the number needed to hit the third and final leg of Robbo's bet builder at Wembley on Sunday.

At the time of writing, only four clubs average more corners - for/against - per game than Man City (10.9) in the Premier League this term, while Chelsea (10) are also well clear of the six needed here.

Betfred are running their famed Double Delight & Hat-trick Heaven offer on this match, meaning that if a player scores first and then nets again, you will be paid at double the odds. If he grabs a hat-trick, you will be paid at treble the odds.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.