Manchester City are playing as well as any team in Europe right now, and they’re rightfully considered to be one of the top favorites to win the Champions League. They will kick off the round of 16 at Basel on February 14th in the first leg of this two-legged tie.
What To Know About Manchester City
Manchester City topped Group F with five wins and a draw, scoring 14 goals with five allowed. Raheem Sterling leads the way with four goals, while John Stones has added three as a defender and Sergio Aguero had three as well. But the key man for Manchester City is Kevin De Bruyne, who might be the best midfielder in Europe right now. He can pass, he is a better defender than people think and he can score goals as well. When he is on, De Bruyne and David Silva are as good as anyone in Europe, with Fernandinho playing the holding role behind them. Their defense is the big question and it has to do with health. Vincent Kompany is perpetually injured, while Stones is back from a hamstring problem, but those are a concern and now Kyle Walker has a groin issue. Ederson is great between the sticks, but Manchester City needs their back four to stay healthy as well as De Bruyne.
What To Know About Basel
Basel finished second in Group A with four wins and two losses, and they scored 11 goals while allowing five. Dmitri Oberlin scored four goals to pace Basel, while Michael Lang added a pair and a few others chipped in with one goal. Basel are a disciplined bunch who gave Manchester United all they could handle in the group stage and even beat them at home. This isn’t a team that is going to be scared against Manchester City and they’re going to follow whatever game plan manager Raphael Wicky lays out for them against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Outlook
Manchester City are huge -300 favorites away from home in this first leg, while Basel is rated at +900 and a draw comes in at +375. This is the first time that these two clubs have met in Europe, so it could began as a cagey match. But if everyone is healthy, Basel’s best plan over two legs is to sit back and try to hold the fort in their end of the pitch as they did against Manchester United and then attempt to hit Manchester City on the counterattack, especially if City still has injuries at the back. Teams have shown that City can be scored on because they like to go forward so much, but the issue with that is, Manchester City is going to score on you. In this leg here, Basel would do well to keep it as a scoreless draw going back to Manchester to give themselves a chance, because City gets a couple of away goals, this tie is as good as over. If Basel can score, that’s fine, but they can’t attack too much and let City run wild.
Champions League Pick: Manchester City
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