Champions League Group D: Man City to make Monchengladbach pay
Published:
Holly Thackeray | December 7, 2015
Manchester City v Borussia Monchengladbach
- Champions League Group G
- Tuesday, December 8th
- Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
- Etihad Stadium, Manchester
- Live on BT Sport 2
City set to assert themselves at the Etihad
Borussia Monchengladbach may be the unfortunate recipients of a Manchester City backlash, as they travel to the Emirates on Tuesday evening for their final Champions League Group D game.
City need Sevilla to do them a favour by beating present pool toppers Juventus, though Manuel Pellegrini’s men also require a victory if they are to finish first and hope for a more favourable draw.
A home win is odds-on with Coral at 4/6, with the Citizens seeking to respond following a shock Premier League defeat to Stoke City.
After previous poor results against Liverpool and Juventus, the Sky Blues went on to score seven in two, smashing Southampton and Hull City, and the Foals could well fall victim to another rallying cry here. While, earlier in the term, a defeat to Tottenham saw City then to storm to 13 goals in three games across all competitions, with Monchengladbach one of their victims in the reverse, so back Pellegrini’s boys at 17/10 to score three or more.
There are still plenty of injury woes for the hosts, however, as Pellegrini confirmed top trio Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany will all miss this crucial match, with the Chilean coach pointing the finger at fitness for their problems.
“There’s no other reason why we played so bad,” said Pellegrini. “We are playing in all the competitions with the same 13 or 14 players and for me seeing the game, without doubt, they didn’t recover from the last two games.
“It is a measure of the squad to be in position we are”.
Borussians bouncing
Though Monchengladbach may be out of the Champions League, the Germans still have much to play for, as they must match or surpass Sevilla’s result to qualify for the Europa League.
Giants Bayern Munich were recently made to rue underestimating the Foals, after slumping to a 3-1 Bundesliga loss last time out. So, motivated Monchengladbach are admittedly intriguing at 16/5 to draw. Though, as they are yet to win away in Europe this season, victory on the road looks long at 4/1.
With that in mind, considering City’s sidelined stars and the Borussians being regularly road weary, Man City look tastiest at 15/8 to triumph and both teams to score.
USA international and utility man Fabian Johnson has been flying of late, with four goals in his last three outings, so customers can back the Germany-born midfielder at a fantastic 5/1 in the anytime market, while forward Lars Stindl (10/3) has also been on the scoresheet recently.
As for City scorers, playmakers Raheem Sterling (6/4 in the anytime market) and Kevin De Bruyne (9/1 to notch a brace or better) will need to perform in front of net with Aguero absent, while Wilfried Bony (7/2 to grab the opener) also has another chance to step up.
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