The first knockout round in the Champions League has thrown up what many would consider a favourable tie for reigning champions Man City (9/4 favourites to win this year’s competition).
However, FC Copenhagen shouldn’t be written off given that they eliminated the other Manchester club in the group stage. When United visited the Danish capital, they were on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller that was won by teenager Roony Bardghji at the death.
This first leg in this Round of 16 clash will take place at Telia Parken too as Pep Guardiola’s side look to do what their bitter rivals couldn’t.
City scored 18 goals across their six Group Stage wins, conceding seven at the other end. The return of clinical finisher Erling Haaland comes at the least opportune moment for Copenhagen.
As if last year’s treble winners’ 10-game win streak in all competitions wasn’t enough, the Norwegian forward is back amongst the squad and back amongst the goals, scoring twice in the weekend win over Everton.
Man City aren’t naïve enough to undermine an opponent whether it be domestically or on the continent, and Guardiola very rarely puts out an undercooked XI.
With this in mind, anything but a win for the English champions away from home would come as quite the shock, particularly with the focal point that is Haaland back from the treatment room.
Copenhagen clearly have some dangerous players, and a familiar face or two as well, most notably former Celtic and Southampton winger Mohamed Elyounoussi.
Haaland’s fellow countryman also scored a brace on the weekend and so he is someone that will need to be on City’s radar, not to mention that he was also on the score sheet in the aforementioned 4-3 win over Erik ten Hag’s United side.
How are both teams expected to line up on Tuesday night? Here are the predicted lineups from WhoScored.com with all the relevant team news.
Copenhagen Predicted Lineup vs Man City
Grabara; Ankersen, Vavro, Diks, Jelert; Bardghji, Falk, Goncalves; Elyounoussi, Claesson, Achouri
Man City Predicted Lineup vs Copenhagen
Ederson; Ake, Dias, Stones, Walker; Lewis, Rodri; Foden, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland
Copenhagen vs Man City Team News
Man City’s recent dominance is reflected in the odds for this game, with bet365 amongst those to be offering 1/4 for the likely outcome. Meanwhile, BetUK have a Copenhagen win priced up at 13/1 and a draw can be found at 11/2 on Paddy Power.
Erling Haaland to score 2+ goals
Erling Haaland scored twice against Everton on his return to the team, and Sky Bet are offering odds of 7/2 for him to repeat this feat in the Champions League.
He is no stranger to scoring multiple goals in a game, having done so on four out of five occasions on a particularly prosperous stretch across October and November.
In this period, Chelsea and Manchester United were amongst those on the receiving end of his wrath as well as two UCL opponents as well.
Over 2.5 Away goals
In all three of their Champions League group stage outings away from home, Pep Guardiola’s men scored three goals.
Odds of 23/20 with 888sport for them to match this or even better it are massively worthwhile, and if you’re feeling brave, you could further stretch it to over 3.5 (7/2 on Betfair).
Not only do City have a strong record of scoring 3+ goals on their travels, but they have also done exactly this in their last three Premier League games away from the Etihad too.
Gamble responsibly
Reach plc is committed to promoting safer gambling. All of our content and recommended bets are advised to those aged 18 or over. Odds are subject to change too.
We strongly encourage our readers to only ever bet what they can afford to lose. For more information, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit begambleaware.org.