Manchester City vs Basel
UEFA Champions League – Round of 16 (2nd Leg)
Date: Wednesday, 7th March 2018
Kick-off at 19:45 UK/ 20:45 CET
Venue: Etihad Stadium (Manchester).
Manchester City can take a breather in the second leg at home against Basel after running rout with a 4-0 win in the first leg at Switzerland.
Basel on the other hand are playing for pride, but their current form could send them towards another humiliating defeat at the Etihad.
Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League at the same stage by Monaco last season. But this time, they seem to have done enough to pass the hurdle. A pair of goals from Gundogan together with Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero exerted their dominance in this tie, which was nothing but a mismatch both on paper and football ground.
It has to be said that Manchester City are coming on the back of three consecutive difficult fixtures in the space of 7 days, but they still managed to snatch victory in all of those.
Guardiola is expected to give some players a break after the team coming of the double header against Arsenal and weekend Premier League clash against Chelsea. He can afford to do so with his team holding on to an insatiable 4-0 lead.
Moreover, no team has managed to beat Manchester City at the Etihad this season and they boast of an incredible home record of 19 wins and 2 draws from 21 matches in all competitions.
Meantime, things are not going well at Basel at the moment. They lost 4 of their last 5 competitive games and this is not an ideal situation for a team going against a team of Man City’s stature.
Manchester City vs Basel: Head-to-head
The first leg clash was Manchester City’s first ever meeting with Basel as well as a club playing their trade in Swiss Premier League.
Basel had plenty of experience playing against English clubs, despite falling short on most occasions. Their overall record is 7 wins, 8 draws and 14 losses from 29 matches. In English soil, it is an underwhelming 1 win, 5 draws and 7 losses from 13 games.
Manchester City vs Basel: Prediction
As mentioned earlier, City are most likely to rotate their squad, but Guardiola will ensure that there are enough quality in all departments. Basel are on a poor run and lack the quality in squad to pose any kind of threat to the Sky Blues. Therefore, expect another easy win for the Citizens.
Manchester City vs Basel: Bet Tips
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HT/FT – Man City/ Man City priced at 1.50 by 888Sport is a potential banker.
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Brave Punters can back Manchester City to win on an Asian Handicap -2.5 for 2.15 odds.
