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

The super derby of this week’s UEFA Champions League battles is in England, where Man City awaits the French powerhouse, Paris Saint-Germain. Pep Guardiola is after revenge for the loss in the first leg, but beating the Saints won’t be easy at all. They have one of the fastest teams in the world, with Kylian Mbappe upfront and Neymar behind him. Also, they have Lionel Messi. You’ve probably have heard about him. Meanwhile, the hosts will be short of Kevin De Bruyne’s services.

Preview

Manchester City (-125) plays without its best player. Kevin De Bruyne won’t appear against PSG due to his positive test for COVID-19, picked up during the international break. This is a hard blow for the Citizens, but they have excellent replacements on board, one of them being Ilkay Gundogan, who already showed last year that he knows how to lead the team in these situations.

City has three straight wins, with a total goal difference of 9-1. It all started against Club Brugge in the UCL, 4-1, then continued at Old Trafford vs. United, 0-2, with the latest one being on Sunday at home against Everton, 2-0.

The home performances are very convincing, with Pep Guardiola’s side recording seven wins with one defeat and draw this year, scoring twice or more on seven occasions. Victories over Arsenal, 5-0, and RB Leipzig, 6-3, were especially impressive.

PSG (+375) didn’t lose in seven straight, winning five times during that period. All those games were exciting, involving lots of goals, and only one didn’t see three or more scores and hits on both ends of the field.

Though, PSG’s results on the road haven’t been convincing as many would believe. In their previous six trips away from Paris, PSG won just twice, with three draws and a defeat in Rennes.

We’ve seen an obvious difference in their performances at Parc des Princes and in front of the rival fans, especially in the backline, who is highly vulnerable. The Saints kept only one clean sheet on the road this year, conceding against mediocre teams frequently.

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De Bryune is out, as said, as well as Mendy, and Ferran Torres.

In PSG, Donnarumma won’t be available, Draxler, Kimpembe, Kurzawa, Rafinha, and Sergio Ramos. According to some of the French and the Spanish media, the Spaniard and the team are trying to sort out his release, though nothing is confirmed officially.

Head to Head

The first leg in Paris saw the hosts winning 2-0. Gueye and Messi were the scorers for the Saints.

However, PSG still didn’t score in Manchester, and they’ve played at Etihad three times. The Citizens have two wins, and one match ended with a goalless draw.

Prediction

Our pick here would be moderate efficiency 2 or 3 goals. We had some doubts between that and under 2.5 goals, in the end, slightly higher productivity prevailed. PSG often allows goals, and that is why we chose the above-mentioned pick. The odds are quite solid, +110, and we believe that the risk isn’t that high.

Pick: 2 or 3 goals +110

Here are the previews for more UEFA Champions League games:

• Chelsea vs. Juventus
• Villarreal vs. Manchester United
• Sevilla vs. Wolfsburg
• Sporting vs. Borussia Dortmund
• Besiktas vs. Ajax