Manchester City vs Borussia Monchengladbach
Manchester City are back in Champions League action this week, when they meet Borussia Monchengladbach in Budapest on Tuesday night.
The Sky Blues are in a commanding position in the tie, already two goals to the good and they come up against a Monchengladbach side woefully out of form and dropping like a stone down the Bundesliga table.
European competition sometimes throws up a surprise, but if Die Fohlen can overturn this deficit and qualify for the last eight it will be a whopper!
Talking Points
It’s all about silverware for City…
While there will be no talk about it at the Etihad, surely Manchester City have a wonderful chance to complete an historic quadruple in 2021.
The Champions League 2021 betting odds here at SBOTOP have installed the Sky Blues as favourites to take the European crown. On the assumption we don’t see a major upset on Tuesday they will have company in the Quarter-finals from Paris Saint-Germain who dispatched Barcelona last week, and almost certainly second favourites FC Bayern, who take a 4-1 lead over Lazio into their second leg.
In domestic matters Guardiola’s team is at 1.33 to beat Spurs in the Carabao Cup final, and is favourite to win the FA Cup at odds of 2.08. Meanwhile, at 17 points clear at the top of the Premier League there is little doubt that title is on its way back to the Etihad.
The daunting news for domestic and European rivals is that City have been on this incredible run without some of their best players; but with Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne fit again they are at full strength. Aguero scored his first goal since his return in City’s 3-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday, a game in which Guardiola made seven changes, resting De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan.
This team is beatable, as Manchester United proved in the derby last week, but to do that you must hope they have a serious off day while you play out of your skins!
…but Gladbach can’t buy a win
In contrast to their opponents’ ambitions Gladbach’s season is in danger of falling apart and head coach Marco Rose has a big task on his hands to lift his side this week. Die Fohlen are on a run of six consecutive losses and they have an almighty challenge to avoid making it a sad seven.
A 3-1 defeat away to Augsburg on Friday night was hard to swallow for Monchengladbach. Having dominated the game, with 65 per cent possession and 26 shots to Augsburg’s ten, they were pressing for the winner when they conceded two late goals, a result which left them languishing in tenth place and seven points behind sixth.
Captain Lars Stindl missed a penalty against Augsburg and that sums up Die Fohlen’s frustration at the moment. Rose has built a reputation for attacking football, but since he announced his plan to switch Borussias and head to Dortmund in the summer; his players seem to have lost their appetite while the Monchengladbach fans fume.
The quality is there in his squad. Alassane Plea has five goals in the competition while attacker Marcus Thuram is a class act, as is midfield maestro Jonas Hofmann.
But have the Foals lost their heart?
History
Manchester City have had the better of the head to heads, winning four of the five meetings with Gladbach and drawing the other.
The Premier League outfit won the first leg 2-0 with goals from Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus, and both will be vying for places on Tuesday.
And while Gladbach are hoping to avoid a seventh consecutive defeat, the favourites are aiming for a 24th victory in 25 games in all competitions.
Betting Tip
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Manchester City vs Borussia Monchengladbach | Manchester City Asian Handicap -1.75 @ 1.91 |
| March 17, 04:00 (GMT+8) |
The Sky Blues are at 1.22 to win this second leg, and I can’t find an argument against that. If you can, then you can get odds of 5.80 for a draw and 10.60 for an away victory.
While losing their unbeaten run to Manchester United last week, in the previous game against Wolves, and subsequent two against Fulham and Southampton, Guardiola’s men have won by three clear goals. This is a team which can score from anywhere and they face an opponent with little or no confidence.
We’ll be back in midweek with the Champions League 2021 updates and news of the quarter-final draw. Expect the Sky Blues to be in that one!
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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