Big Match Breakdown: Manchester City v Lyon
Preview, odds and tips for UCL clash
Manchester City begin their quest for Champions League glory with a home tie against Olympique Lyonnais at the Etihad Stadium in Group F tonight.
The Citizens fell at the quarter-final stage last season. They’re 9/2 favourites to win the competition outright for the first time. Can they land a blow on the opening matchday, live on BT Sport 3?
The Coral News Team have previewed the 8pm clash with a Big Match Breakdown.
Head-to-Head
This evening’s match will be the first ever meeting between the two sides. City will at least be able to take heart from Lyon’s relatively poor record on these shores.
The Ligue 1 club have won just once in four previous visits to England in the Champions League. That success came at Anfield in 2009, as Cesar Delgado scored a 90th minute winner to give Les Gones all three points.
Likely XIs
Pep Guardiola only has one fresh injury concern following Saturday’s success over Fulham. Striker Sergio Aguero picked up a knock in that match and was replaced by Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian could get the nod from the off here. John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan are also pushing for starts, while Benjamin Mendy could return.
Lyon boss Bruno Genesio is expected to adopt a conservative approach against City. That could mean a lone role for the recalled Memphis Depay up-front, with ex-Celtic man Moussa Dembele on the bench. Jason Denayer failed to make an appearance in five years with the hosts and is expected to make his Etihad Stadium debut for the visitors.
Key Battles
This match largely depends on how Lyon handle City’s attacking reserves. Guardiola’s troops did plenty of damage early on in UCL matches last season – scoring five of their opening eight group stage goals before the 30 minute mark.
Marcelo, Denayer and co. will have to be at their best to thwart the pace, width and movement of Sane and Sterling, who will look to stretch their opponents. Ex-Liverpool target Nabil Fekir will be crucial for the visitors going forward, ahead of defensive shields Lucas Tousart and Tanguy Ndombele.
Match Odds
Man City won all three of their group matches 12 months ago. They’re 2/11 to extend that run and open up with a win. It’s 6/1 about the draw, with 14/1 for a Lyon victory.
There’s no guarantee 1/2 Anytime shot Aguero will start at the Etihad, so that leads us towards Jesus. The 21-year-old striker is 5/6 Anytime and 12/5 to Score 2 or More.
John Stones bagged twice at this stage a year ago. He’s 40/1 to Score First as per his performance versus Feyenoord last year, or 17/2 Anytime. A match which should see plenty of goalmouth action is even-money to produce a City Win and Over 3.5 Goals.
Click here for the latest Manchester City v Lyon odds from Coral.
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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
