Manchester City return to Champions League action this week with Pep Guardiola’s side travelling to Slovakian outfit Slovan Bratislava.
City drew with Inter Milan in their opening European clash of the season and our tipster Andrew Cunneen is on hand to preview this week’s showdown.
The Premier League champions have drawn three of their last four outings in all competitions but will they dominate on Tuesday? Here’s our Slovan Bratislava v Man City Bet Builder.
Slovan Bratislava v Man City Tips
Both Teams to Score: Yes
Over 4.5 Goals
Jeremy Doku to Score Anytime
Ilkay Gundogan to be Shown a Card
- An Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 68/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
WHEN: Tuesday 1st of October, 8pm
WHERE: Tehelné Pole, Bratislava, Slovakia
TV: TNT Sports 1
Both Teams to Score: Yes
There’ll be a recurring theme with this, where Man City are readjusting to the spaces typically occupied by Rodri.
It’s not clear what the long-term solution is. Pep will rotate more than a set of waltzers put up by A-Level students in Skegness, but the auditions will cause issues for established players too. More on that later.
Slovan are a side that could not care less about Man City coming over to Bratislava and there’s a lot to be said for that.
And City aren’t the type of side to be immune to a hostile environment. They just get the job done. And at the prices, I’ll be happy to seek an alternative angle than the W-D-W.
They went to Leipzig last year and conceded. Their trip to Young Boys saw them concede, too. Oh, and Belgrade? Shipped twice, albeit qualified at that point.
Copenhagen? Magnus Mattsson scored. Conceded three in Madrid, too. Slovan are used to open games – it’s their MO.
Over 4.5 Goals
Indeed. They’d conceded nine goals in their first seven games of the season and shipped five to Celtic in their opener in this competition. But even in a game where they were being hammered, they managed to find the net. I’m not sure too many will remember Kevin Wimmer’s consolation on the hour mark in Glasgow, bar BTTS backers.
But David Strelec should get a bigger move next summer as he’s now featuring regularly for Slovakia, so you can at least bank on them having functional strikers, even if City will contribute the majority of these five goals.
Jeremy Doku to Score Anytime
When you sit in two banks of five, the player who scores is almost always a winger that cuts in and shoots because nobody else has any space to move into.
We’ve been waiting for Doku to have the show-stealing impact that City wingers of yesterday had managed, and it seems like the screw is slowly turning for him.
Even if Pep rests players, he’s one of the more likely to be on this team sheet.
And, thanks to Paddy Power’s Super Sub promotion, if he’s now quite doing it, his replacement will take ownership of this leg of the bet. Given their firepower on the bench, it’s not a bad safety net to have, is it?
Ilkay Gundogan to be Shown a Card
I find the Gundogan stuff funny. He left City to jet off to Barca. And City just couldn’t find a player capable of always being in the right place at the right time to replace him.
So they brought him back. He still reads the game brilliantly, but he’s a step slower. His ability to move forward and not worry about defensive duties was his biggest asset. But as the senior statesman now that Rodri has been ruled out for the season, you can just see him giving the odd dragback to a Slovan player trying to break against City’s two centre halves.
Slovan Bratislava v Man City Betting Tips
Both Teams to Score: Yes
Over 4.5 Goals
Jeremy Doku to Score Anytime
Ilkay Gundogan to be Shown a Card
- An Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 68/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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