MANCHESTER CITY will begin their latest bid for Champions League glory on Wednesday night when they play host to Portuguese champions Porto.
The Citizens went into last Summer's revamped format of the competition as pre-tournament favourites, however, their most recent quest to conquer the continent ended in agonising fashion following a shock 3-1 defeat by Lyon.
The Champions League remains the holy grail for cash-rich City, however, last season's last-eight exit was a brutal reality check for Pep Guardiola who will be hoping that new signing Ruben Dias can help shore up his shaky defence.
The Portuguese centre-half helped steer his new side to a much-needed clean sheet during Saturday's 1-0 win over Arsenal as Man City got back to winning ways in the Premier League.
Standing in City's way this midweek is a Porto outfit who have endured a mixed start to the new Primeira Liga season, opening with two wins, one draw and one defeat.
Porto have considerable pedigree in this tournament – the Blue and Whites famously lifted the trophy back in 2004 – and Sergio Conceicao's side could be gearing up for a fiercely competitive scrap with Marseille and Olympiakos for second spot in Group C.
Outright Betting
Man City have won seven of their last eight Champions League matches at the Etihad and a home win on Wednesday night is odds-on at 1/4 with William Hill.
Porto have failed to win six of their last nine Champions League away fixtures and that is reflected in the Portuguese champions being priced up as big underdogs in this bout at 11/1 with Unibet, while the draw is also deemed unlikely at 11/2 with the same bookmaker.
Betting Angles
The bookmakers prices for this match unsurprisingly suggest that this will be a one-sided affair and as such punters will have to dig deep to try and come up with some value.
With that in mind, I'm going to make use of Bet 365‘s Bet Builder where I'm going to combine Man City half time/full time and over 1 match goal, a combination that will give us a nice looking 5/6 shot.
The above-mentioned combination has clicked in seven of City's last eight Etihad encounters and I like the look of siding with a repeat when Porto come to town on Wednesday night.
Sergio Conceicao's side have shipped five goals across their last two Portuguese top-flight tussles and that does not bode well ahead of a bout with a star-studded Man City team.
What's more, Porto lost three of their four Europa League road trips last term and that coupled with the fact that the visitors sold a number of their key players over the close season only adds to the appeal of siding with the aforementioned betting angle.
I'm also going to opt for another combination with the view to backing goals and cards and the alternative angle that I'm going to have a play on is over one Man City goal and Porto to collect over one card at 9/10 with William Hill.
Eight of Porto's last 10 outings at Europe's top table have produced three or more strikes, while each of Man City's last four Champions League matches have generated over 2.5 goals.
It's also worth noting that Porto racked up 24 cards across their final six Europa League matches last season – an average of four cards per game – and with that mind, I'm happy to back the victors to collect two or more cards during this Group C curtain-raiser.
This UEFA Champions League match between Man City and Porto will be played on Oct 21, 2020 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Man City vs Porto prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
