Premier League bets of the weekend: Chelsea's form pivotal factor in profit hunt as City look strong option
Jose Mourinho has failed to string two wins together all season, while Juergen Klopp has registered one victory since taking over at Liverpool
The English Premier League has reached the first significant milestone of the season - the 10-match marker - and the only two members of the big six not to have moved forward compared with last season are Chelsea and Liverpool, who coincidentally kick off the weekend action in tonight's early match.
After 10 games of last season, Chelsea were in a clear lead with 26 points, but now they are languishing in 15th place with just 11. Liverpool are next-worst of the big six in ninth place with 14 points - the same tally they had reached at the same stage 12 months ago.
All the other members of the big six have accumulated more points in the first 10 games than they did last season, with Manchester City up two points, Arsenal up five, Manchester United up seven and Tottenham three.
The slump has gone on for much longer than expected and opposing Chelsea has been one of the most profitable strategies of the season
Overall the big six have secured more points between them by this stage compared with last season, which may be surprising considering the apparent vulnerability of the elite teams and the threat posed by the likes of West Ham, Leicester and Crystal Palace.
Punters have continually had to decide whether to trust that Chelsea's class is permanent and that the bad form is only temporary, but the slump has gone on for much longer than expected and opposing Chelsea has been one of the most profitable strategies of the season.
Mourinho has failed to string two wins together all season and Chelsea continue to look worth opposing until there are sure signs of a revival, although it is equally difficult to place great faith in Liverpool.
Juergen Klopp's team have issues of their own and appear to be a long-term project for the new manager, who has got the team working hard but is handicapped by a lack of goals (three in his first four games) and a lengthy injury list.
Neither side inspires confidence as a win bet, but it could be worth siding with Liverpool on the handicap. With both managers looking for solidity, under 2.5 goals has to be considered.
The best bet among the big six is Manchester City, who should have no problem dealing with Norwich at the Etihad and rate well on the handicap.
City's matches this season divide neatly into two categories - dropped points against other teams in the top six and mostly easy wins against the rest. Norwich are clearly among "the rest" in 16th position.
The only setback at home for City was the 2-1 defeat by West Ham, but that does not look anything like a shock result now (nor indeed does Arsenal's loss to the Hammers on the opening day of the season).
City have won every other home match easily - 3-0 v Chelsea, 2-0 v Watford, 6-1 v Newcastle and 5-1 v Bournemouth.
The visitors have conceded in all six games against top-half teams, at an average of two goals per game, and their last road trip brought a 6-2 defeat at Newcastle. Their defending was awful that day and City's slick movement is likely to overwhelm them.
The one to oppose is Manchester United, away to Crystal Palace. United have lost two of their five away games - the only other big-six team to have lost more than once on the road is Chelsea - and remain quite fragile, winning only three of the 10 away games in which they have conceded in 2015.
Palace are a hit-and-miss side (five wins and five defeats from their first 10 games) but they are one of the teams most capable of troubling the elite and are worth a shot on the handicap.
Ipswich, Schalke, Celta Vigo.
