Premier League Big Match Focus: How to back an 8/1 Bet Builder in Man City v Chelsea

• City need one more win for title

• Chelsea's tough 2023

• De Bruyne can haunt old club again

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Three years after a defeat to Chelsea saw Manchester City wave goodbye to their 2019-20 Premier League hopes, Pep Guardiola's side can make it three titles in a row with victory against the same opponents.

City's win at Everton last time out was their 11th on the bounce in the Premier League. Coupled with Arsenal's loss at home to Brighton, it means the reigning champions need just three more points to successfully defend their crown.

Opponents Chelsea are nowhere near where they were last season, when City beat them 1-0 home and away. The scoreline was the same at Stamford Bridge back in January, since when the London side have won just four of their 18 games.

Unstoppable City

After those three victories over the past two seasons, another three points would be enough for City to make history. They have never won four straight league games against Chelsea, but did manage three on the spin back in 2010 - including a 4-2 win against a nine-man Blues side, Chelsea's only home reverse in their title-winning season under Carlo Ancelotti.

City go into the game off the back of a big win against another Ancelotti team, with Real Madrid brushed aside in their Champions League semi-final. However, the visitors may take some solace from the fact that caretaker manager Frank Lampard - himself on target in that 2010 defeat under the Italian boss - escaped from the Etihad with a point earlier this season when in charge of Everton.

Still, there's one record which that 2009-10 Chelsea side should be able to cling onto. City have 59 home league goals this season, and have a chance to become just the fourth Premier League side to hit 60 or more in front of their own fans, but that record of 68 from the London side 13 seasons ago is set to remain intact for another year.

Blues for the Blues

If Chelsea are to get something from the game, they may need to start quickly, but punishing City early on is easier said than done. Guardiola's side have trailed for just 228 minutes in the league this term - fewer than any other side - and their current 14-game unbeaten run has seen them playing catch-up for less than 11 minutes.

What's more, Chelsea's record against teams above them in the table over the past two seasons has been miserable. They haven't won any of their 14 such games, with the last three - against Arsenal, Brentford and Brighton - all ending in defeat.

Chelsea are coming off a run of five straight defeats to City in all competitions, without scoring in any of them, and they've never lost six in a row against one opponent without finding the net. The last Chelsea player to score against City was Kai Havertz, who did so to bring Chelsea the 2021 Champions League title.

Manchester City v Chelsea prediction

While City have plenty of match-winners in their squad, two players stand out ahead of this particular fixture. Riyad Mahrez has a chance to become the first City player to score in four straight games against one opponent since 1975-76, while no former Chelsea player has scored more goals against them in the Premier League than Kevin De Bruyne with five.

This is a Bet 5 Get 5 game, meaning you can get a £5 free bet when you place a £5 Bet Builder on selected football matches.

We can't look past a home win for this one. However, with our attention drawn to the Bet Builder market, there are other areas to look at.

As mentioned, De Bruyne has an enviable record against his old employers. The Belgian is also coming up big in the latter stages of the season, as he has done before, scoring twice in the win over Arsenal and netting away to Real Madrid in Europe.

We're looking at Man City -2, with De Bruyne scoring and Chelsea picking up more cards than their opponents. This can be backed at 9.33.