Are Manchester City good value at around 11-4 against Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena?
I was initially surprised to see that Manchester City are priced up at around the 11-4 mark for Tuesday evening’s Champions League encounter with Bayern Munich, but the more I think about it the less likely I believe it is that Roberto Mancini’s charges will get anything from this match at the Allianz Arena.
Indeed, in terms of pedigree the Citizens have a long way to go if they’re to rival the German giants, and for all that exponential amounts of money have been ploughed into Man City’s squad by the club’s deep-pocketed owners, they were brought down to earth on their debut in this competition in their opening group match when held to a 1-1 draw by Napoli at the Etihad Stadium.
Don’t get me wrong, there was no disgrace in that result as Napoli are a club very much on the ascendency – and City are unbeaten so far this season – but Die Roten’s depth of experience in the Champions League, a competition the Bundesliga outfit have won on no less than four occasions, will count for plenty when the nerves kick in tonight.
Bayern are formidable on home soil, and the only time they have suffered defeat at the hands of English opposition in their own backyard was against Norwich way back during the 1993-94 season. Incredibly, Jupp Heynckes’ men have already scored 17 times at home this season, and while the absence of Arjen Robben is far from ideal, they still possess a great deal of firepower, not least through imposing striker Mario Gomez who has made a scintillating start to the season.
This will be a thoroughly intriguing encounter between two of the best sides in Europe, but I’m readily expecting Bayern to edge it, and my money is on a 2-1 victory for the home team, an outcome about which Ladbrokes and Unibet offer tempting odds of 8-1.