Are Manchester City Banker Material to Win in Marseille?
Many punters will have had their fingers burnt backing Manchester City to win the Champions League under Pep Guardiola, with the north-west side falling short every time under the Spaniard despite the fact that they have landed a number of domestic pieces of silverware.
City have lifted the Premier League trophy in 2018 and 2019, although the European Cup has so far eluded them and they’ve actually been no further than the quarter final stage under Guardiola, with Lyon recently throwing a spanner in the works a few months ago.
Can City Win the 2020/21 Champions League?
Manchester City opened their European account with a 3-1 victory over Porto which puts them on course to qualify for a group that also features Marseille and Olympiakos, with Guardiola’s side expected to make it through to the last sixteen as section winners and they will then have stronger opponents to face.
Perhaps the manager feels somewhat aggrieved that lockdown came along at a time when City had recently won 2-1 at the Bernabeu and confidence was sky high, although the bookies offer a best price 5/1 that the English side finally come good on the continent this year.
Perhaps the biggest issue is that Bayern Munich have emerged as a European powerhouse once again, with the German side making some statements of intent already, while Liverpool could also be a problem should Jurgen Klopp’s side make inroads in the competition.
Will Marseille Pull Off a Shock Win in this Clash?
Marseille finished the 2019/20 Ligue 1 season in second place, with the campaign being cut short although Andre Villas-Boas’ side had a very credible 56 points from 28 games played and that ensured that they came back into the Champions League although it was a losing start after conceding a late winner away to Olympiacos.
Andre Villas-Boas is an experienced coach who masterminded a 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain during the early stages of the domestic season, although it was probably a good time for Marseille to be meeting the French champions who had a number of players who were only coming back from their exertions in helping PSG reach the 2020 Champions League final.
The big concern is that Marseille have only won one of their four home matches this season and much will depend on whether Florian Thauvin can exert any influence on the game from midfield.
What Are the Best Bets For This Match?
We do think that Manchester City are slowly coming to the boil and the fact that Manchester United recently recorded a victory away to Paris Saint-Germain illustrates that French football is perhaps not as strong as it might have appeared due to PSG and Lyon’s presence at the business end of the previous season’s competition.
Sergio Aguero is back for the visitors and it might be that Kevin de Bruyne also plays a part in this game, while Raheem Sterling is back in his preferred position out wide and the defence looks to be in much better shape considering that Ruben Dias has slotted into the back three or four depending on how the visitors line up.
We can’t necessarily back City at such short odds considering they don’t have to win the game although we think you can take a flyer on them to lead at half-time and full-time considering we know they can get after teams from the off, with Marseille unlikely to have any answers.
It’s also good to look at the visitors on the Asian Handicap betting market with either a -1, -1.5 or -2 goal handicap. We think that this can be neatly covered by a team who will have the bit between their teeth.