MANCHESTER CITY welcome Porto to The Etihad on Wednesday in the Champions League. Daniel McCulloch (@DMcCulloch1984) shares his favourite fancies.
Manchester City vs Porto | Wednesday 21st October 2020, 20:00 | BT Sport
Manchester City begin their European campaign against Porto on Wednesday night without their key protagonist Kevin De Bruyne. While they did manage to cope without him at the weekend – winning 1-0 against Arsenal – they were far from their free-flowing best and while they just about deserved to win the game, they did not create the volume of chances we usually expect from Pep Guardiola’s side.
City have gained just seven points from their four league games this season and were they up against tougher opponents this week I may have looked to oppose them.
While Porto once again won the Premeira Liga last season, they struggled in Europe – failing to get to the Champions League proper before losing 2-0 at both Feyenoord and Rangers in the group stages of the Europa League and getting knocked out (while losing both legs) by Bayer Leverkusen.
West Ham’s Felipe Anderson has been loaned to Porto but while he is a talent I don’t think City will be too scared of him.
I do think City will have too much for their Portuguese opponents but don’t expect it to be a goal glut and the 7/8 Betway are offering on City to win and Under 4.5 Goals to be scored is my main bet.
Additionally, I will once again back the most common City scorelines. In the 156 Premier League games they have played under Pep Guardiola, the Citizens have won 20 of them by a scoreline of two goals to one and 21 by 3-1.
A 2-1 home victory is 17/2 with BetVictor, while 3-1 is 10/1 with 10Bet. Back these two for around a fifth of your stake of the main bet and you will be in profit providing there are four goals or fewer overall, something I am very confident of occurring.
Best Bets
Manchester City vs Porto – Manchester City to win and Under 4.5 Goals (7/8 Betway)
Manchester City vs Porto -Manchester City 2-1 Porto (17/2 BetVictor)
Manchester City vs Porto – Manchester City 3-1 Porto (10/1 10Bet)
