Borussia M'gladbach vs Manchester City Betting Pick | Champions League

Champions League

2021-02-24 - Borussia M'gladbach vs Manchester City

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Borussia Monchengladbach v Manchester City
Football: European Champions League Last 16 First Leg
Wednesday 24th February 2021 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV

Borussia Monchengladbach

When the Champions League Group Stage draw was made, Borussia Monchengladbach would have been underdogs to Qualify for the Last 16 behind Real Madrid and Inter Milan. The Group came right down to the wire before the German Bundesliga club were able to secure their spot in the next Round, but the form has deserted them since December and Borussia Monchengladbach are down in 8th place domestically.

Wins over Shakhtar Donetsk at home and away were good enough to earn Borussia Monchengladbach progression from the Champions League Group, but they stumbled over the line having lost their last 2 Group matches. They have now won 3 of their last 10 fixtures played outside of Germany in the Champions League and Borussia Monchengladbach have to 'host' the First Leg on neutral field.

Borussia Monchengladbach have won 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions and they have been beaten in 2 of their last 3 which is not ideal preparation for the resumption of the Champions League. The side have not lost a game outside of their own Stadium in their last 7 since the 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid on Match Day 6 of the Champions League Group Stage.

Mamadou Doucoure is a doubt.

Manchester City

The Champions League remains the 'Holy Grail' for Manchester City who are trying to establish themselves as one of the top clubs in European Football. While they have become the best team in England over the last three or four seasons under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have yet to play a Champions League Semi Final and were upset by Lyon in the Quarter Final last season having previously lost at the same stage to Premier League rivals Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

In recent weeks Manchester City have not only moved to the top of the Premier League table, but a strong run has seen them move clear of their rivals. They won all but one game in the Champions League Group Stage to top a section ahead of Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille. The side have lost 1 of their last 13 Champions League games played outside of England, although Manchester City suffered that defeat in the neutral field defeat to Lyon in the Champions League Quarter Final last season.

Manchester City have extended their winning run to 18 in a row in all competitions, while they are unbeaten in 25. The 0-1 win at Arsenal on Sunday means Manchester City have won their last 11 games outside of the Etihad Stadium.

Nathan Ake is missing, while the likes of Kyle Walker, Rodri, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus will be hoping for starts. Sergio Aguero has been in the match day squad in the last couple of weeks, but has yet to return to action.

Head to Head

These clubs will be meeting for the seventh time when they play in Budapest on Wednesday.

Borussia Monchengladbach beat Manchester City 4-2 on aggregate in the 1979 UEFA Cup Quarter Final.

They also met in the Champions League Group Stage in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons and Manchester City won 3 of those 4 games with the other ending in a draw.

Prediction

Both of these clubs will have to travel to Hungary in a First Leg that is being 'hosted' by Borussia Monchengladbach and it only strengthens the favouritism of Manchester City in the Last 16 tie.

They would likely have been favourites anyway, but Borussia Monchengladbach have struggled for consistency since the end of the Group Stage of the Champions League. It also won't be lost on anyone that they almost backed their way into the Second Round with 8 points being enough for them to edge out Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan.

Borussia Monchengladbach only won twice in the Group Stage and losing home field is going to be a blow. In recent weeks some of the better results earned by the team have come away from their own Stadium, but taking on this Manchester City team in their current form looks beyond Borussia Monchengladbach.

Manchester City were beaten 3-1 by Lyon on a neutral field in the Champions League last season, but I am not sure Borussia Monchengladbach are playing with the kind of confidence to repeat that. It is the only defeat in 13 Champions League games outside of England that Manchester City have played, while they will know enough about this opponent having met them in 2015 and 2016.

Both teams have changed, but Manchester City won't be intimidated at all and I think they will be far too good for Borussia Monchengladbach in both Legs of this tie. There is every chance the Second Leg will be little more than a formality for Manchester City if at their best on Wednesday and I think the English Premier League club can follow Liverpool in earning a comfortable win over a German Bundesliga club on a neutral field.

The Statistics :

MONCHENGLADBACH LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2020-12-01	L	2-3	H v Inter_Milan
	2020-11-25	W	4-0	H v Shaktar_Donetsk
	2020-10-27	D	2-2	H v Real_Madrid
	2016-11-23	D	1-1	H v Man_City
	2016-11-01	D	1-1	H v Celtic
	2016-09-28	L	1-2	H v Barcelona

MAN_CITY LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2020-12-01	D	0-0	A v Porto
	2020-11-25	W	0-1	A v Olympiakos
	2020-10-27	W	0-3	A v Marseille
	2020-02-26	W	1-2	A v Real_Madrid
	2019-12-11	W	1-4	A v Dinamo_Zagreb
	2019-11-06	D	1-1	A v Atalanta