Introduction
Manchester City go into this second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie with FC Copenhagen with a two-goal buffer after a 3-1 win in the first leg at the ca Parken Stadium.
Goals from Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden put City in the driving seat after a brief scare when Magnus Mattson equalized Kevin De Bruyne’s opener.
About the game
The win in Denmark was City’s 10th consecutive victory in European football, a feat that sums up their recent entry into the realms of European elites. That run includes nine straight Champions League wins, and a UEFA Super Cup win over Sevilla.
Overall, Pep Guardiola’s City team are yet to taste defeat in their last twenty Champions League matches. They won each of their six group clashes, scoring exactly three goals in each of them. The 3-1 win in the first leg made it seven consecutive Champions League games where City have scored thrice, so it will be understandable if Copenhagen comes into this with a containment plan.
Jacob Neestrup’s Copenhagen side have it all to do if they are to drag themselves back into this tie. They will not be giving up without a fight having come this far despite being earmarked as whipping boys in the group stages. In a Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Galatasaray group, they managed to scale through with only two narrow defeats.
It has not been smooth sailing for them in the league as they ended last year with a three-game winless run, which has seen them drop to second place behind Brondby. With the league season coming to a head, Neestrup has not been able to mix up his selection and rest players as he would have liked.
On the other hand, Manchester City has had the luxury of rotating their squad to keep players fresh. The returning duo of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne have been eased back into action gradually. They started together to devastating effect in the FA Cup against Luton Town on Tuesday.
Haaland scored five goals in that 6-2 win at Kenilworth Road, with four of his goals coming from De Bruyne’s assists. The duo is set to link up again on Wednesday against Copenhagen, and we expect their quality to be too much for the Copenhagen defence to handle.
The Best Betting Odds for Manchester City vs FC Copenhagen
| Markets | Odds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City win |
1.13 
|
1.16 
|
1.15 
|
1.112 
|
1.153 
|
|
| Draw |
9.80
|
7.80
|
8.40
|
9.5
|
9.85
|
|
| FC Copenhagen win |
17.00
|
16.50
|
17.00
|
20
|
21
|
|
| Over 2.5 |
1.33
|
1.40
|
1.36
|
1.36
|
1.36
|
|
| Over 2.5 |
1.33
|
1.40
|
1.36
|
1.36
|
1.36
|
|
| Over 2.5 |
1.33
|
1.40
|
1.36
|
1.36
|
1.36
|
|
Conclusion
Manchester City’s quest to become only the ninth team to retain the Champions League trophy continues on Wednesday night at the Etihad. They will come into this as favourites to go through, considering the gulf in class between both teams and the healthy lead they hold from the first leg. We feel that the favourites tag is justified as City completely annihilated Copenhagen 5-0 at the Etihad in the group stages last season.
Samuel Okunsolawo is an iGaming expert with over six years of experience in content writing. His passion for simplifying complex concepts makes his articles accessible and useful for beginners and experts alike. With a focus on sports betting trends and reliable betting sites, Samuel’s articles are an excellent resource for those seeking guidance and staying up to date in the world of iGaming.