Man City – AS Roma

One of the most anticipated clashes of the round in the Champions League is the match between Manchester City and Roma at Etihad.

City was very close to gain a point against Bayern in Germany but lost 1-0 in the last minute – it was a fair result, as City went there to defend and Bayern was the better side. The English Champions were not too impressive so far this season, they struggled to find some rhythm and their traditional devastating offense was not clicking for some reason – however, the last two games showed a massive improvement – a 7-0 win over Sheffield Utd in the League Cup and a 4-2 victory at Hull, a very tough ground to play at.

Roma will be desperate to back up the 5-1 win over CSKA Moscow with a draw at Etihad, the Italians know it will not be enough to defeat the Russians in this nightmare group. So far the Giallorossi are playing fantastic football, they made some great signings in the summer and are repeating the blistering start from last season – 5 wins in Serie A from 5 matches, 9-1 goal difference, plus the beating they gave CSKA. The strong spot for Roma is their defense.

Bet with the best odds and highest limits at Pinnacle.

Team news & lineups

City will be without Fernando and Nastri, while Roma has a clean bill of health.

Man City: Hart – Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov – Milner, Fernandinho, Toure – Silva, Aguero, Dzeko

Roma: De Sanctis – Cole, Manolas, Yanga-Mbiwa, Maicon – Keita, Nainggolan, Pjanic – Totti, Gervinho, Destro

City might have scored 11 goals in the last 2 matches but they struggled offensively all season and Roma is not Sheffield or Hull. The visitors are an excellent tactical unit under Rudi Garcia, their defense is top notch and the team is in blistering form. I expect a tough game for City and we should not see too many goals here – the visitors will look to stay organized at the back and hit on counters, while City will be wary of Roma’s strength and won`t go all out attack to leave themselves exposed. The odds for the under 2,5 goals bet are crazy, so my tip is under 2,5 goals to be scored – for better safety you can also try under 3, still at good odds. Roma has a decent chance here but eventually I think City will win by a slim margin. Prediction: Manchester City – AS Roma 1-0.

Pick: under 2,5
Odds: 2.30 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 9.1
Event date: 30 September