UEFA Champions League: Manchester City vs. Borussia Monchengladbach Preview, Odds, Prediction

Borussia Monchengladbach travels to Budapest to face arguably the best team in Europe at the moment, Manchester City. The two sides will clash in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16, with the note that the first one saw City routinely beating the German side on the road, 0-2. Many are wondering about the hosts’ lineup and whether Pep Guardiola would send the strongest team on the pitch this Tuesday night. Knowing the Spaniard, he doesn’t take any chances in such situations and usually plays with 100% of his power after witnessing various surprises throughout his career.

Preview

Manchester City (-480) did lose to the local rivals, United, two weekends ago, 0-2, but they quickly forgot that loss and continued with their usual activities. City would defeat Southampton at home just three days following that defeat, 5-2, and then head for Craven Cottage to beat Fulham, 0-3.

The back like was in some odd mode, allowing at least a goal in four straight events, up until the one against Fulham, where they routinely kept its net intact.

Until the game against the Red Devils, the Sky-Blues didn’t post a loss since November 21st once Tottenham triumphed in London in the EPL. They would play 28 contests during that time and post 25 wins with three draws, with 19 clean sheets. Pretty impressive.

Borussia Monchengladbach (+1200) comes to England in the worst possible time, having six defeats in a row, and eight consecutive games without a win. During this negative stretch, the Germans couldn’t score on four occasions, and to make it even worse, the majority of the events took place at their Borussia Park.

We don’t know what has happened with Marco Rose’s guys, who experienced a meltdown not being able to make a decent performance in more than six weeks. It could be that the chemistry and the atmosphere in the locker room are disturbed following the news that Rose signed a contract with Dortmund, which would see him leave Monch at the end of the year.

The German side plays open on the road, and five of the previous six events away from Borussia Park saw both sides scoring, with four of them going above 2.5 goals.

Latest News

There aren’t any injured players among the home team. Nathan Ake is the only one who is questionable, but he, too, is expected to be in the protocol.

Bensebaini and Kramer are not playing for the guests, which is a big hit for their already shaken morale. Quizera is also out, while Musel’s appearance would be a game-time decision.

Head to Head Games

Bernardo Silva in the 29th and Gabriel Jesus in the 65th minute were the scorers for the Citizens in the first leg, which also took place at Puskas Arena in Budapest. It was one routine win for City.

Prediction

The odds favor Man City heavily, which is no wonder after all seen while analyzing this event. Our pick here would be for City to win with -1.5 goals. Odds on that pick are -125, and that is superb, having in mind the difference in quality between these sides.