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Manchester City will try to build on their excellent home record when they host Czech minnows Viktoria Plzen at Etihad. City has 9 points, 3 less than Bayern, and is already qualified for the knockout stage. The visitors failed to gain a single point in Champions League`s group D so far. Previously in the group City defeated Plzen 3-0 on the road.
Manchester City has had its fair share of trouble and inconsistent play upon changing the manager, but they have improved a lot lately and it truly seems that the attacking-minded Pellegrini is the right choice for the former Premier League champions. A particular highlight of Manchester City`s season has been their play at home, where they have been amazing: 6 wins from 6 games in Premier league, goal difference 26-2. City just won 6-0 against Tottenham over the weekend.
Plzen surely felt very unlucky to be drawn in such a tough group, and even a single point looked to be a tough task before the competition started. The Czech are “on track” to finish with zero points, as they lost all their games so far and a trip to Etihad Stadium does not allow many reasons for optimism even for stronger sides. However, Plzen’s zero points so far can’t be attributed only to the strong group. The czech side has arguably the weakest squad since they first tasted Champions League football a couple of seasons ago. They looked shaky in the qualies against a very poor Maribor side and they trail Sparta Praga by 5 points in the domestic league. Plzen is in good form lately, winning their last three matches and scoring at least twice in each of them, but Champions League is another level.
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Team news & lineups
Joe Hart will return in the starting lineup for City, sending romanian Costel Pantilimon back to the bench. Kompany, Jovetic, Kolarov, Nastasic, Silva and Rodwell will miss the game for the hosts. Plzen is pretty much at full strength for this one, so the team news are clearly in favor of the visitors. However, it was always expected that Pellegrini will rotate the squad a little bit for this one.
Manchester City: Hart – Richards, Demichelis, Lescott, Clichy – Navas, Garcia, Toure, Milner – Dzeko, Guidetti
Viktoria Plzen: Kozacik – Hubnik, Prochazka, Cisovsky, Rajtoral – Horvath, Horava – Petrzela, Kolar, Duris – Tecl
Even without a couple of key players, this City side looks way too strong for the czech champions and my guess is that the hosts will record a comfortable win, despite them being already qualified. City still has the first place to fight for, and they have been absolutely dominant at home this season. Prior to the 6-0 Tottenham win, City defeated Moscow (5-2) and Norwich (7-0). The hosts will still field a top class first 11 and I expect them to put at least two-three goals past their opponents. Plzen so far allowed 3 or more goals in 3 of their 4 group games, and they conceded at least once in 10 of the last 11 games, which is a pretty poor record considering the level of the domestic competition.
All in all, home court advantage should do the trick here and make the difference. My pick is Manchester City – Viktoria Plzen 4-0 and I`m going with a 2,25 asian handicap on City.
Pick: Manchester City (-2,25 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 2.14 @ Sbobet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 9.12
Event date: 27 November
Editor Facts
- Rostick is 2 for 3 in picks involving Manchester City this season
