Crunch game promises goals
Manchester City will be looking to take their near-perfect domestic form into Wednesday night’s crunch tie against German giants, Bayern Munich. City enter the match-up knowing that all three points may not be enough for them to reach the coveted knock-out stages of the Champions League, as they also require other results to go in their favour.
This season, Roberto Mancini’s men have been almost unstoppable in the Premier League, yet they have been unable to carry this on into the Champions League and just two wins out of five clearly backs up this sentiment. However there is no doubt that if they were to play to their full potential, they could match any team in world football and Bayern Munich will be fully aware of this as they aim to knock-out a side that could certainly pose a major threat if they were to reach the knockout stages.
Jupp Heynckes’s main concern must be his side’s recent defensive problems and tendency to concede goals. Bayern started their season in phenomenal fashion, conceding only one goal in their first 13 games, which included 12 clean sheets in a row. Unfortunately, they have now conceded 12 goals in their last 10 matches and have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six.
Despite these recent frailties, Heynckes has stuck by his first choice back four of Lahm, Boateng, Badstuber and Van Buyten and he will probably opt to field these four on Wednesday. One familiar face - Arjen Robben - will no doubt be looking to start after making cameo appearances in recent weeks as he regained full fitness from a recent injury. If he does start he could prove a tricky customer for City to deal with and also has history of scoring goals in big games. Bet365 are offering 11/4 on him scoring anytime and the same firm offers 10/1 on him netting the first goal, however it may be wise to see the team line-ups before delving into any goalscorer markets.
The same applies to Manchester City, as Mancini has a tendency to rotate players for European nights, such is the array of talent at his disposal. Aguero, Dzeko and Balotelli are all capable of getting themselves on to the scoresheet, but again, it may be wise to see who Mancini opts for in his starting XI first of all.
Bookmakers have made Manchester City odds-on favourites to win the match, but if other results are going against them, this will no doubt filter through to the Etihad and players may lose a little enthusiasm, so I would advise avoiding the Match Odds market and concentrating on more obvious markets.
Recommended Bets
Both teams to score @ 8/11 with Bet365
Over 2.5 goals @ 7/10 with Bet365
Written By:- Richard Hodge (About our
Authors)
Posted on:- 06/12/2011 - 10:36 AM
Filed in:- Man City Betting News, Manchester City
Related Stories