Draw represents real value at 12/5 in battle of the Blues

Sunday’s big game sees title holders Manchester City play host to league leaders Chelsea (4pm KO, Live on Sky Sports 1). A draw is appealing to punters at 12/5 with Coral in what promises to be a real hard-fought affair.

City come into the game having failed to win any of their last three in all competitions. Manuel Pellegrini’s men went down 1-0 at home to Stoke City before drawing with Arsenal and suffering defeat at Bayern Munich in the Champions League midweek.

They have also not managed to keep a clean sheet since the opening day, and face a Chelsea side that have won all four league games and were the only team to beat them at the Etihad last season.

That would suggest Jose Mourinho’s men should arguably be favourites to come out on top. City remain, however, very tough opposition at home and Pelligrini will know they need to get something out of this encounter to keep Chelsea in their sights.

For that reason, I think the Citizens will go into this game with a mentality of avoiding defear rather than “win at all costs”, and that makes a draw look well worth siding with.

Both teams to score at 6/10 with Coral looks a solid bet, given that City’s porous defence and Chelsea have managed to keep just one clean sheet in their last five.

In the goalscorer markets, Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero are undoubtedly the pair to concentrate on.

Brazilian-born Spain striker Costa has made an unbelievable impact since joining Chelsea, netting seven in the first four games of the season, while City’s Aguero has 10 in his last 12 Premier League appearances at the Etihad.

These respective club top scorers are both priced up at 5/4 in the anytime market, and it will be a major surprise if one of them fails to be on target.

Deciding on which one is difficult, so backing both to hopefully secure at least a small profit looks the safest way to play.

Best Bets:
Match to be a draw – 12/5
Both sides to score – 6/10
Aguero anytime scorer – 5/4
Costa anytime scorer – 5/4