Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid
Manchester City are in Champions League action on Tuesday night when Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid head to the capital of the north for the second time in three weeks.
Pep Guardiola has had plenty of opportunity to weigh up the threat of the La Liga high flyers, having watched them beat Manchester United at Old Trafford in March with a typically ruthless performance. Of course Simeone’s team are the current Spanish Champions and are on a hot streak of form. And while the latest Champions League 2022 betting odds price Manchester City at 1.20 to navigate this tie Guardiola knows it will be far from easy.
The Sky Blues come into the game on the back of a comfortable victory over Premier League strugglers Burnley while Atletico Madrid thumped Alaves 4-1, and both teams will approach the tie with plenty of self belief.
This could quite easily turn out be the clash of the round.
Talking Points
City’s four big games
Manchester City’s 2022 campaign could be defined over the next 12 days as they prepare for four huge matches across the three competitions they are targeting. The sequence goes like this:
5th April – Atletico at home in the Champions League,
10th April – Liverpool at home in the Premier League,
13th April – Atletico away in the second leg,
16th April – Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final.
Win all four matches and they will be well on target for all three trophies. Lose and they could be out of two competitions and behind in the race for the Premier League. If they come through unscathed, with Brighton and Watford next up at the Etihad, the Sky Blues’ momentum could be unstoppable. City were efficiently personified on their trip to Turf Moor and were in total control throughout the game. Kevin de Bruyne scored a brilliant opener and Ilkay Gundogan added a second with a slight deflection to beat Burnley keeper Nick Pope. The two goal cushion was never in doubt as City bossed possession and had 18 shots to Burnley’s five to reclaim the top spot in the Premier League.
De Bruyne was substituted late in the game with an eye on this tie which he is sure to start, and we could see the return of Riyad Mahrez, who has six goals in the competition, as a replacement for either Jack Grealish or Phil Foden, who both laboured a little against Burnley.
The Sky Blues cruised through to the quarter final having slapped Sporting Lisbon 5-0 in Portugal, but they won’t make the mistake of expecting to ease through the quarter finals.
Atletico going for a Manchester Double
At SBOTOP odds of 3.94 to make it through this two leg tie against the favourites, Atleti are outsiders but that’s a role they are happy to play and they will defend for their lives against one of the best attacking units in world football. Keeper Jan Oblak was back to his imperious best in the victory over the Red Devils to record a shutout, as Renan Lodi scored the only goal of the game for a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Uruguayan central defender Jose Gimenez and Stefan Savic have struck up a solid partnership at the heart of Los Rojiblancos’ defence. But, in worrying Champions League 2022 news for the Spaniards, Gimenez was substituted late in the game with Alaves and Simeone has not yet said whether the injury is serious, so there is an anxious wait ahead for Atleti fans.
At the other end of the pitch there is another nice partnership developing between Luis Suarez and Joao Felix who both scored twice in Atleti’s win over Alaves, so that gives plenty for the Sky Blues’ defenders to think about.
History
Atletico are three times runners up in the Champions League, most recently in 2014 and 2016, while the Sky Blues lost in their first appearance in the final, last season. Guardiola’s men went into the match against Chelsea as hot favourites but failed to turn up as the Blues ran out 1-0 winners.
This season Manchester City topped a tough group containing Paris Saint Germain and Red Bull Leipzig, while Los Rojiblancos finished second to Liverpool in a group also containing Serie A league leaders AC Milan.
In terms of recent form Atletico have the edge, with six wins on the bounce and eight unbeaten, while their hosts are seven unbeaten and have won four from six, drawing the other two.
Betting Tip
City are at 1.36 to win this first leg, with Atleti at 7.72 and the draw us at 4.55. Los Rojiblancos have won their last four games on the road, but they will be cautious against the multiple threat of the Sky Blues and hard to break down.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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