Manchester City vs Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain head across the English Channel on Tuesday for their Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester City, 2-1 down after the first leg.
The winners will meet either Real Madrid or Chelsea in the final in Istanbul, and the hosts are hot favourites to make it after goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez gave them a big advantage in Paris.
Here at SBOTOP we reckon Manchester City, with two away goals in the bag, will reach their first Champions League final, but before that they will have to overcome the 2020 finalists who, managed by Mauricio Pochettino, can beat any team in the world on their day.
Talking Points
1, 2, 3 for Man City
By the time Manchester City host PSG on Tuesday night they could already have two 2021 trophies in their cabinet. Last week the Sky Blues won the Carabao Cup, with a 1-0 victory over Spurs. They are also about to win the Premier League; they are 13 points clear and, if Liverpool beat Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, they will be uncatchable with four games left to play.
They come into this match on the back of a 2-0 win away to Crystal Palace. For 57 minutes, City were frustrated but they took the game away from the Eagles with two goals in three minutes. Sergio Aguero, who played the full 90 minutes for only the second time this season and Ferran Torres were on target, and both will be in contention for a start on Tuesday.
Torres has four goals in the competition, while Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gudogan and Phil Foden have all scored three times, and they are all sure to feature.
Don’t write PSG off just yet…
If you take a look at the Champions League 2021 betting odds, it doesn’t look good for
Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG. They are at odds of 4.44 to overturn the first-leg deficit, while the Sky Blues are at 1.15 to finish the job. But the Parisiens have upset the odds all the way to the final, beating Barcelona and FC Bayern on the way.
And Paris are on the hunt for their own treble. They are in the French Cup semi-final and in second place in Ligue 1, one point behind Lille with three games to play. Brazilian striker Neymar scored the first goal and set up the second for Marquinhos as they beat Lens on Saturday.
However, France forward Kylian Mbappe was absent, having suffered a calf injury in a recent victory over Metz. He played the full match for Pochettino in the first leg against City and was impressive in the opening half, but the visitors will give him a late fitness test before he takes the pitch in the second leg.
Kylian Mbappe in the stands during PSG’s recent match against Lens
If Mbappe makes it then PSG have a chance. He has eight goals in the competition while Neymar has six, and their head coach remains optimistic, saying: “In football you need to believe. We will try to win and score goals. Of course we are under a little bit of pressure, but in football you need to try.”
The visitors will be without midfielder Idrissa Gueye who was red-carded in the first leg, but other than him and Mbappe, Pochettino has no other worries.
The Parisiens have already pulled off some stunning Champions League 2021 results, can they do it again?
History
Well, Pochettino’s team is on a winning streak of ten matches away from home so they will not be daunted by a trip to the Etihad. But in their four meetings so far, Paris are yet to beat City who have won two and drawn two of the previous clashes.
Prior to last week’s victory, the Sky Blues won the second leg of the 2016 Champions League quarter-final against PSG and they are aiming to make it three on the run.
The Sky Blues have won their last four games in all competitions and the odds strongly suggest they are about to make it five.
Betting Tip
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Manchester City vs Paris Saint-Germain | Total Goals 2-3 @ 2.07 |
| May 5, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
At odds of 1.63 to win, the Sky Blues are hot favourites to extend their advantage on Tuesday, while the draw is available at 3.88 and the visitors are at 4.45.
Another 2-1 win is the most likely score-line at odds of 6.76. De Bruyne and Jesus for City and Neymar for the Parisiens is my guess… let’s see if City can finish the job.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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The post Champions League: Can Paris Match the Sky Blues? appeared first on SBOTOP.