Top Match Tips: Agüero's return not enough for City to see off Barca
Pep Guardiola has had a bit of a time of it when facing former side Barcelona. In three matches, he has seen his side concede 9 with his heaviest defeat coming just a fortnight ago when Manchester City shipped 4 unanswered goals. Never one to shy away from making bold decisions with his lineups, Guardiola opted to leave Sergio Agüero on the bench in favour of a false nine role for Kevin De Bruyne. A tactical choice he has already confirmed he will avoid tonight.
Manchester City have finally ended a poor run of results. After 6 games without a win, Guardiola’s side easily dispatched of a hapless West Brom at the Hawthorns 4-0. While it may not have been the best preparation for tonight’s clash - it will have given the players a much needed boost of confidence.
As expected, results have continued to go Barcelona’s way in La Liga. However they fell behind against a poor Valencia side, needing a injury time penalty to secure the win. Not only that, but they netted just a single goal against bottom of the league, Granada, despite Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez all starting.
Both Manchester City and Barcelona have a number of suspensions and injuries to contend with. The absence of both Gerard Piqué and Andrés Iniesta should be a boost to Manchester City if they want to retain second place in Group C. They currently are just a single point ahead of Borussia M.Gladbach, who host Celtic tonight. If City drop points tonight they could be in danger of falling third in the group with a trip to Germany still to come.
With that in mind, there is certainly money to be made in this fixture courtesy of Bet365. New Bet365 customers recieve a 100% deposit bonus. When you deposit £10 or more you will qualify for a matched amount to bet with, up to £200. Given the excellent markets on offer for this Serie A contest, you stand to win money from the match.
Manchester City have not conceded a goal at home in the Champions League since December of last year - a run of 5 clean sheets. With Willy Caballero deputising for suspended Claudio Bravo tonight, their record will likely not last against the formidable force of Barcelona’s attack. Atletico Madrid were the only side to stop Barcelona from scoring in their last 13 away Champions League matches.
A 5 point gap between Barcelona and Manchester City means they don’t need a result tonight to ensure a position in the knockout stages of this Champions League campaign. But that doesn’t mean they won’t still want to get a result over their former boss. Expect both teams to score tonight, but Barcelona to take all the points. Bet365 have priced a Barcelona win and both teams to score at 4.00.
He made an 11 minute cameo in the reverse fixture, but Sergio Agüero will start tonight with a point to prove. The Argentinian has scored 10 goals in just 9 starts for Manchester City this season. You can get him to score anytime tonight at 2.10 with Bet365.
