Few goals in David vs Goliath clash?

According to the bookmakers, the David versus Goliath clash on matchday four of the UEFA Champions League group stage will take place at the Etihad Stadium. Last season’s CL finalists Manchester City and Bruges will face each other on Wednesday night at 9pm.

The Skyblues did not let their side down in the first leg a fortnight ago and celebrated a brilliant success in Belgium. For the second leg, odds of 1.11-1.13 are offered for Manchester City against Bruges on a home win. For a lucrative profit opportunity, the view must be directed accordingly to the alternative betting markets.

The match is also definitely of interest to German football fans, as the two teams are in RB Leipzig’s group. The March eleven will be hoping for some shooting help from the home side in order to perhaps achieve third place in the group (currently four points behind).

Manchester City – Statistics & current form

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are not looking back on a particularly successful week. In the, certainly unloved, EFL Cup, there was a lot of rotation and in the end, the Citizens were narrowly defeated by West Ham on penalties. A defeat that can certainly be absorbed, far more bitter was the performance in the domestic championship last weekend.

Second defeat of the season against the Eagles

Those with the right instinct were in for a big win as there were no signs of the Skyblues losing their home game against underdogs Crystal Palace. In the end, however, the result was a 2-0 defeat at home to the Etihad Stadium. The effect in the table is that the reigning English champions are already five points behind Chelsea after ten rounds. For the third time this season, City’s renowned attack failed to score. Compared to league leaders Chelsea (26 goals) and Liverpool (29 goals), Manchester City have some catching up to do.

Internationally, however, the title contenders have already demonstrated their incredible offensive power on several occasions. In the opener against RB Leipzig, the Englishmen scored no less than six goals, followed by five more against Club Brugge. Only in the 0:2 defeat at the Prinzenpark in Paris did City remain without a goal. The defeat to Messi & Co was Manchester City’s only loss in their last 20 matches in the CL group stage.

Either lean fare or spectacle

The results in the league and those in the Champions League have one thing in common, because currently there seem to be only both extremes in games involving City. Either the fans are offered a pure spectacle, or the team has big problems and offers football meagre fare. In terms of the number of goals scored, this means that in all of Manchester City’s games this season in which the over 2.5 was the right choice, the over 3.5 was also crowned with success (4/10 in the league, 2/3 in the CL).

In this respect, the low odds for the over 2.5 should not be considered for Manchester City against Bruges, but rather the bet on at least four goals is quite lucrative. Here, the betting odds are just under 2.00 and generate a very lucrative profit in the event of success.

Predicted line-up of Manchester City:
Ederson – Cancelo, Dias, Stones, Walker – de Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva – Grealish, Foden, Mahrez

Last matches played by Manchester City:

Premier League
10/30 2021 – Manchester City 0 – 2 Crystal Palace

Carabao Cup
10/27 2021 – West Ham (5)0 – 0(3) Manchester City

Premier League
10/23 2021 – Brighton 1 – 4 Manchester City

Champions League Grp. A
10/19 2021 – Club Brugge 1 – 5 Manchester City

Premier League
10/16 2021 – Manchester City 2 – 0 Burnley

Bruges – Statistics & current form

The Belgian champions are currently only second in the domestic championship after 13 rounds completed. Completely surprisingly, promoted Union SG are leading the Jupiler League. The Clement eleven is within striking distance with only two points behind and will probably have the longer breath over the entire season.

Defensively with some problems

Aufallend bei der Meister in dieser Spielzeit sind aber die vorhandene Probleme im Defensivverbund. Club Brugge delivered an inferior performance on matchday six when they lost 1:6 against KRC Genk. But not only in this match were glaring mistakes the order of the day, but also in the remaining matches there were repeated lapses in the defence. In four of the last five league games, Club Brugge conceded a goal. In the meantime, Brugge have conceded 15 goals, compared to the 15th goal conceded by Clement’s team last season on matchday 22.

Internationally, Clement’s side have surprised in their first two games, not only holding Paris to a draw, but also recording a surprising but not undeserved 2-1 win against RB Leipzig. This means that the Belgians have lost only two of their last nine CL away games, having previously lost five in a row. After the draw, Brugge were considered to be the heavy underdogs, but now Clement’s team has the best chance of making it through the winter. Given their comfortable starting position, the Belgians can play with complete freedom on the island. However, it is not realistic to predict a surprise for Manchester City against Brugge, as the difference in quality is too great for that.

Little possession, a lot of return

Nationally, Brugge are extremely dominant, have the ball for the most part and let the opponent run. Internationally, on the other hand, the signs are skewed and the Belgians hardly have any longer periods of possession to show for it. The OPTA stats for this Champions League season make this clear, as Club Brugge have completed ten or more passes in a row just six times in their first three group games.

Predicted line-up of Brugge:
Mignolet – Sobol, Mechele, Hendry, Clinton Mata – Vormer, Balanta – De Ketelaere, Vanaken, Lang – Dost

Last matches played by Bruges:

Jupiler Liga
10/30 2021 – VV St. Truiden 1 – 2 Club Brugge

Cup
10/27 2021 – Club Brugge 3 – 0 Deinze

Jupiler League
10/24 2021 – Antwerp 1 – 1 Club Bruges

Champions League Grp. A
10/19 2021 – Club Brugge 1 – 5 Manchester City

Jupiler Liga
10/15 2021 – Club Brugge 2 – 0 KV Kortrijk

Manchester City – Bruges Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

The first leg a fortnight ago was the first meeting between the two sides, with Guardiola’s side giving the Belgians no chance in front of their home crowd, recording a commanding 5-1 victory.

This means that the Skyblues have won six of the seven games against Belgian teams so far. Club Brugge, on the other hand, do not have good memories of English PL teams, with their last success coming in February 1995, and since then the Belgians have gone 13 games without a full win (three draws, ten defeats).

Manchester City – Bruges Tip

The starting position for a Champions League match could hardly be clearer. Due to the clear success in the first leg, the betting odds on the home win have been pushed down again and are at a level that is not even useful as a combination filler. Above all, the Skyblues are lacking a bit of consistency this season, and in addition to gala performances, there are also occasional slip-ups, like the one last weekend.

Nevertheless, the home win is not in doubt, but in order for lucrative odds to be offered on Manchester City against Bruges, alternatives must be sought. We found what we were looking for with the bet on the over 3.5. The Belgians are struggling with defensive problems, City will be looking to make amends and accordingly push forward. Moreover, in 2021/22, every City game that ended with an over 2.5 also ended with an over 3.5. Accordingly, we play the bet on 3.5 goals with six units as stake for Manchester City against Brugge.