This is one of the best weekends to bet on the English Premier League so far this season, with three standout away bets courtesy of Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham.
Chelsea visit Manchester City and the first inclination was to oppose them, as City are a solid side despite the loss of their early-season momentum. Their run of seven straight draws in the Premier League has put pressure on manager Mark Hughes, but it is no mean feat to have lost only once this season - unluckily, away to local rivals United.
The Londoners, remember, have been defeated twice in the league this season and Manchester United have lost three games, so there is no doubt City are up there with the best teams, even though they have slipped to seventh in the table. They beat Arsenal 4-2 at Eastlands during their bright start to the season and went toe to toe with United at Old Trafford, equalising three times in a pulsating match before going down 4-3 at the very end.
At the odds, however, Chelsea rate a good bet to stretch their winning run to six in the league since their 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on October 17. They have scored 17 goals without reply during their five-match winning streak, which has included victories over United and Arsenal, and in the same period they have won two Champions League games to nil - 4-0 at home to Atletico Madrid and 1-0 away to Porto.
Didier Drogba is at his destructive best, which is worrying for a City defence that has shown a lack of cohesion in recent weeks. After opening the season with clean sheets in their first three games, City have kept only one clean sheet in their last 10 league games and that was only because of an inspired display by Shay Given in the goalless draw at Birmingham City, with James McFadden having a penalty saved by the City goalkeeper.
Across the City defence there are problems, with Joleon Lescott unconvincing in a central role, Kolo Toure showing the lack of resilience that emerged during the latter part of his Arsenal career and Wayne Bridge leaving alarming holes on the left-hand side.
