Manchester City made short work of their round-of-16 tie with Basel in the first leg, romping their way to a 4-0 win on the road. That gives them a huge cushion going into the second leg at home on March 7th and they might be able to rest some of their starters; at the very least, they shouldn’t have to play 90 minutes.
What To Know About Basel
Basel got off to a decent start in their loss as Dimitri Oberlin used his pace to both Manchester City’s back line. They also did well at the beginning of the second half as they tried to get back into the game as they were down 3-0 by that point, but they pushed forward too much and gave up another goal. However, there wasn’t much that Basel could do as they were simply overmatched against the English Premier League leaders and getting to the round-of-16 is as good as an accomplishment as they could hope for. They will have another chance to play in the Champions League as Basel can now focus on the Swiss Super League, where they are in second place and that would put them in the second qualifying round.
What To Know About Manchester City
Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring after 14 minutes in the first leg, then Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero scored in the next nine minutes to basically end the game and the tie, because of away goals. Gundogan added another after 53 minutes and then Manchester City took their foot off the gas as Kevin De Bruyne, Aguero and Raheem Sterling were all substituted. Manchester City’s next three games as of February 21st are the EFL Cup final against Arsenal, then league games against Arsenal and Chelsea. But because they have a 16-point lead in the EPL, Manchester City are now in a delicate balancing act of getting their top players rest, but not enough that they get rusty as they shouldn’t have an issue progressing to the next round. For the quarterfinals, goal differential doesn’t matter in who gets to play at home for the second leg, it is all about who gets drawn second when teams are matched.
Outlook
Manchester City are favored at home for the second leg at -800, while Basel are rated at +1400 and a draw comes in at +800. This isn’t Basel’s first trip to Manchester this season as they were beaten 3-0 at Manchester United on September 12th in the group stage. Really, this match is all about who Manchester City decides to play in this game and even with their second string, players like Silva, David Silva and Leroy Sane, they should have enough to beat Basel outright. Pep Guardiola got flack earlier this season for not playing any of his younger players. This would be a good chance for Guardiola to get them on the chance and maybe a run-out in the second half as this tie is basically over now, unless Manchester City have a monumental collapse.
Champions League Betting Pick: Manchester City
Looking for the latest odds on Champions League matches? Visit Play Shangri La to get all of the odds, including the betting lines to win it all.
