MAN UTD and Man City are aiming to bounce back from weekend shockers as they continue their Champions League adventures on Wednesday.
United were stunned by West Brom to make it three defeats in six league matches while City crashed 3-2 at Aston Villa – the same scoreline that saw them stunned by promoted Cardiff.
United possibly have the toughest task as they travel to a Shakhtar Donetsk side who have never lost at home to an English team and have netted in every game they've played – home and away – to English opposition.
Davie Moyes's Champions League debut saw his side beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 at Old Trafford so a point in the Donbass Arena would keep his side on track for the last 16.
Shakhtar, who won away to Real Sociedad on matchday one, are a best 6-4 with the likes of William Hill and Paddy Power and that's tempting.
But if United have a fully-fit Robin van Persie back to help Wayne Rooney they can nick a point. The draw pays 12-5 at McBookie.com.
Rooney has been the one positive for United this season and is worth a look at 9-4 at McBookie to score at anytime.
Adriano's the main threat for Shakhter with five goals this season and is 21-10 at Paddy Power. And take a look at both teams to score at 7-10 with McBookie.com.
Meanwhile, Man City chiefs replaced Roberto Mancini with Manuel Pellegrini mainly because of recent failures in the Champions League.
Pellegrini had impressive runs with Villarreal and Malaga and started well with City's 3-0 win at Viktoria Plzen. But tonight is the real test as Bayern, playing the Pep Guardiola way, visit the Etihad.
Bayern are favourites at 6-5 (various) but struggled against Chelsea before winning the Super Cup on penalties and it looks like the Germans are still adjusting to like under Guardiola.
I can see City, so strong at home and superb in beating United 4-1, taking at least a point. They are as big as 13-5 at William Hill to win you can have City draw no bet at 11-8.
Best bet could be over 2.5 goals at 3-4 with bet365 as Bayern usually net on the road.
Recommended Bets
Shakhtar v Man Utd draw
(12-5, McBookie.com)
Man City v Bayern over 2.5 goals
(3-4, bet365)
Man City draw no bet
(11-8, William Hill)
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
Im a Man Utd fan and I wouldn’t be surprised if its shaktar-1 tonight. worth a bet at odds of 4/1 and 9/2
Daz yous have got of to a bad start under moyes. But it is still the same team that won the league. For me if yous play the way yous can an set up right you will win 2-1 utd
of course we can win but things aren’t right at the minute shaktar-1 is worth a little bet even-2 for a long shot. moyes is too negative he doesn’t know what hes doing I cant wait to see his starting line up it will most likely anger me
I’m guessing Over 2.5 and a draw means a 2-2 bonkers bet could be in order? :-)
No Gareth Bale
Galatasaray +3 @ 1.30 the same price as a Juventus win, I think Juve will win but I don’t think it will be convincing one
I see no way that City can beat Bayern tonight unless there is a sending off. Schweinsteiger is back from injury and should start in the middle, with Lahm reverting to right back and Rafinha dropping to the bench. If this is the case there is absolutely no way that City can compete against Bayern in the middle of the pitch. Schweinsteiger, Kroos and Muller are a far more effective and accomplished trio than Toure, Fernandinho and Silva.
City’s form is also a massive cause for concern, and although people seem to think Bayern haven’t settled under Guardiola they have failed to win just two games. One of these was the defeat in the German supercup against Dortmund (a team light years ahead of City). While the other was a 1-1 draw against Freiburg, where they fielded a much changed and under strength team ahead of the Super Cup game against Chelsea. Still it took a fortuitous 86 minute equaliser to deny Bayern maximum points.
Lastly a mention for the goalkeepers. Manuel Neuer has established himself (and rightly so) as the consensus top goalkeeper in the world, while Joe Hart is one of most overrated players in the Premier League. While Neuer’s mistakes emanate from his role as a quasi sweeper, it is simply Hart’s handling that let him down on many occasions.
City’s only hope is that Rafinha plays RB, with Lahm playing central midfield. In this case they should see plenty of joy down the left. However, with Schweinsteiger fit again this shouldn’t happen and I think Bayern will win 2-0 or 3-1.