Champions League: One Defeat to PSG is Quite Enough for City

Manchester City vs Paris Saint-Germain

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain come face to face again on Wednesday when they renew their battle in the 2021/22 Champions League at an expectant Etihad Stadium.

PSG have already beaten the Sky Blues, two months ago, and Pep Guardiola will be sure his team has learned from that experience. It’s set to be an epic clash between two clubs with their eyes clearly focussed on the main prize. The latest Champions League 2021 betting odds, here at SBOTOP, pitch Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as joint-favourites to win the tournament, alongside FC Bayern at a price of 4.60; meanwhile PSG are the next in line at a price of 6.00.

PSG come into the game on the back of a 3-1 in over Nantes, while City swept Everton aside with a consummate performance, winning 3-0 on Sunday. And now they turn their attentions back to Europe where they are equally desperate to dominate.

Both are recently beaten finalists but in quite different circumstances. PSG lost the 2020 final, which they entered as underdogs and were outplayed by a brilliant FC Bayern. But in 2021, Manchester City were strong favourites to win the final against Chelsea, but they simply didn’t turn up as Thomas Tuchel gave a tactical master-class to take the trophy home to West London.

So far it’s been a case of ‘what might have been’ for both City and PSG, and now they want the ultimate European football success. If Mauricio Pochettino’s side can frustrate the Sky Blues again, then the Parisiens will take a psychological edge into the knockout phase.      

Talking Points

Manchester City’s conveyor belt of talent

When David Silva left Manchester City in 2020 after ten spectacular seasons at the Etihad, fans and pundits alike wondered how the Sky Blues would cope without their mercurial talent. Well, the door opened for Phil Foden who has stepped into Silva’s shoes so easy to become one of the best creative talents in world football. He moves gracefully with the ball and has such tight control that he can work his way through any defensive barrier. His passing and shooting range make him the complete attacking midfielder, but it seems that City have some more of the same in the pipeline.   

Two 19-year-olds starred in the destruction of Everton and both seem to have the poise and skill to make the step up too. Cole Palmer made his first start and was unlucky not to score in an all-action performance, while James McAtee made a cameo appearance and, in the few minutes he was on, he gave glimpses which suggest he could be the best of the lot! While in Joao Cancelo, City have a wing-back as good as any in Europe at the moment as he showed in his man-of-the-match performance against the Toffees.

City’s recent home game against Club Brugges turned out to be a walk in the park as Foden opened the scoring in a 4-1 win, while Gabriel Jesus scored his third goal of the competition and Riyad Mahrez notched up his fourth. That made it three wins from four and at odds of 1.65 to win this tie, the Sky Blues are well fancied to take all three points again. They currently sit at the top of Group A, on nine points and one ahead of PSG, who have a four-point advantage over third-placed Brugges. 

Pochettino’s big year just got bigger

PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino has the task of winning domestic and European silverware for his club, and he is contracted until 2023 to do so. But the recent sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United has prompted suggestions that Poch, who has been long admired by the Red Devils, might be tempted to head back to the Premier League in 2022.

If he fails to win in Europe the PSG owners might be happy to let him go, but he does have a real chance with a team likely to include Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday. With three goals in the competition, Messi has made the point he is still one of the best players on the planet. And Italy’s uncompromising midfielder Marco Verratti has been in fine form, so the Sky Blues know they will have a fight on their hands.

History

Manchester City have won three of the head to head meetings, drawing two and losing just the one, when they met earlier in this competition. Messi starred for the Parisiens in the September meeting as Pochettino’s men ran out 2-0 winners.

Prior to that game, the two teams met in the 2021 Champions League semi-final when Riyad Mahrez scored twice in a 2-0 win at the Etihad to win the tie 4-1 on aggregate.

In terms of recent form, both teams have won four of the last six, City losing the other two while Paris drew theirs.

Betting Tip

	Manchester City vs Paris Saint-Germain	Manchester City Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 1.85
	November 25, 04:00 (GMT+8)

With the draw at odds of 3.88 and PSG at 4.36 to win, the Etihad crowd will expect another good night for their team and an away win would be one of the surprise Champions League 2021 results of the week. Of course, PSG are a fine side with arguably the best player on the planet in their ranks, and they will almost certainly qualify for the knockouts, but this Manchester City team appears to be getting better and better and I think they will come through for their fans on Wednesday.

 

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