Does the Cityzens’ winning run continue?

Three games, three wins and 9:3 goals – that’s the tally so far for defending champions Manchester City in Group G of the UEFA Champions League. The Sky Blues have won all three games so far with a standard score of 3:1, but have not kept a clean sheet in any of them. Accordingly, the betting tip for Manchester City v Young Boys is that the Swiss champions will also score at least one goal in the second leg against Guardiola’s side

In any case, YB have a lot of offensive power. The Bernese also warmed up in the domestic Super League at the weekend. Despite being outnumbered for over half an hour, the Swiss team won 4:1 at Winterthur. The first leg defeat against the Cityzens was also the only defeat in the last eight competitive matches (three wins, three draws). Nevertheless, at least in the case of Manchester City against Young Boys, it is almost impossible to predict that the visitors will win a point.

Manchester City FC are absolutely untouchable, especially in their own stadium. The Sky Blues have now gone 27 games unbeaten in the Champions League (25 wins, two draws). They have also won all five of their home games in the Premier League in 2023/24, scoring 16 goals to 3. Consequently, two weeks after City beat YB 3-1 away from home, we have no doubts that Guardiola’s team will win the second leg.

However, in view of the three Champions League victories by the British side, in which they have always conceded exactly one goal without exception, it is very interesting to bet on the Swiss scoring at least one goal at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Manchester City – Statistics & current form

Manchester City won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble in the 2022/23 season. The Sky Blues are now faced with the major difficulty of having to capitalize on this groundbreaking success in some way.

On the one hand, everyone involved is of course aware that everything has to come together to win the treble. On the other hand, however, the demands of the billion-euro club have increased rather than decreased as a result of this great achievement. So far, at any rate, the yield in the 2023/24 season is impressive

Getting to the round of 16 is now just a formality

In the Premier League, the Cityzens are once again at the top of the table thanks to their unbroken home form. They have won all five home games at the City of Manchester Stadium so far, scoring 16 goals to 3. Meanwhile, the Sky Blues have only been eliminated from the EFL Cup.

In the Champions League, they have recorded three consecutive 3-1 victories, which has given them the undisputed lead in Group G. They already have an eight-point lead over third place, which means that nobody should have any doubts about Guardiola’s team reaching the round of 16

Fulminant dress rehearsal in the Champions League

The bookmakers’ odds on Manchester City v Young Boys are now also swinging in the Cityzens’ favor, who recorded a brilliant 6:1 home win over Bournemouth in their dress rehearsal on Saturday, but once again failed to keep a clean sheet.

However, if they do end up with a home win, another goal conceded is unlikely to dampen their spirits. The Sky Blues are currently unbeaten in 27 Champions League home games in a row (25 wins, two draws) and have not lost any of their last 16 matches in the top flight (eleven wins, five draws).

Manchester City’s expected line-up:

Young Boys – Statistics & current form

BSC Young Boys have sustainably become the figurehead of the Swiss Super League. Since bringing the national championship back to the city of Aare for the first time in 32 years under Adi Hütter in the summer of 2018, the Yellow and Blacks have won five league titles in the last six years.

At the end of the 2022/23 season, the club from Bern was once again at the top of the table. Now, in the new season, in which last year’s champions FC Zurich appear to have regained their strength after a weak transition year, the focus is on the league, in which there is currently a close neck-and-neck race with the city club.

Winless in eight Champions League games

At the same time, YB would also love to take the next step in their third appearance in the Champions League group stage and reach the knockout round, as the then serial champions FC Basel did on many occasions in the 2010s.

However, after three of their six preliminary round matches, the Bernese have their backs to the wall. The yellow-and-blacks only scored away in Belgrade (2:2), but lost both home games against RB Leipzig and Manchester City 3:1. This means that the team from Aarestadt have now gone eight Champions League games without a win (three draws, five defeats)

In 15 attempts, never before a clean sheet in the Champions League

In addition to the clear difference in quality between the two squads, there are two points that speak against betting on the Swiss team to win against Young Boys. Firstly, YB have never won an away Champions League match in seven attempts (two draws, five defeats).

And secondly, the Bernese, who at least managed to warm up in the Super League away at the weekend despite being outnumbered for half an hour in Winterthur (4:1), hold a sad record. No other team has played more games in the main rounds of the Champions League without ever keeping a clean sheet than BSC Young Boys (15).

Predicted line-up of Young Boys:

Manchester City – Young Boys head-to-head comparison / H2H result

Head to head: 1 – 0 – 0

The first leg on October 25, 2023 was the first and only competitive match between the two teams to date. The 3:1 away win in Bern means Manchester City lead the head-to-head. However, the Sky Blues have lost their only European home game to date against a Swiss club in the Champions League round of 16 of the 2017/18 season. In that home defeat against FC Basel, the visitors’ coach was none other than current YB coach Raphael Wicky…

Manchester City – Young Boys tip

With Manchester City v Young Boys, the betting odds are clearly in favor of the Sky Blues, who have won all three of their Champions League group games so far by exactly 3:1 to take a commanding nine-point lead in Group G. The Cityzens are unbeaten in a total of 16 Champions League games (eleven wins, five draws) and have even extended their international home streak to 27 games (25 wins, two draws).

There is therefore no alternative to betting on a home win for the Sky Blues. However, because the Swiss have absolutely nothing to lose and already scored against the Cityzens two weeks ago, we recommend predicting that Guardiola’s team will not manage to win at home against Young Boys without conceding a goal.