Man City v Bayern Munich Tips

Having tipped already qualified Arsenal to lose in Greece, I feel justified in forecasting a better outcome for Bayern Munich on Wednesday night. The principal difference is that Arsenal don’t see Olympiakos as any kind of long-term threat in the competition; Bayern must view Manchester City in an entirely different light.

A draw is pretty long at a best price of 16/5 (VictorChandler) and that would be enough to eliminate the hosts - something the Germans would surely love to do. Bayern are without Arjen Robben, who has been struck down by flu, but they travel with a pretty strong squad to the north-west of England. The visitors are also aware that they are taking a significant number of fans to the Etihad Stadium. The four-time European champions are a big, proud club who won’t want to infuriate their supporters with a limp, unprofessional performance.

It’s also worth saying that Bayern are really a good deal stronger than Arsenal. They are clear third favourites (7/1 Ladbrokes) for the Champions League, only behind the mighty Barcelona and Real Madrid in the betting. Even if they aren’t at their very best, they are plenty capable of earning a point against City. Mario Gomez has travelled, and he has personal motivation to find the net as the joint-leading scorer in the competition with six in five matches. The 26-year-old bagged both goals in the 2-0 win at the Allianz Arena. 

Jupp Heynckes’ side have also lost just one of their last seven away Champions League matches. But let’s not go overboard and make it sound like the away win (5/1 VictorChandler) is somehow inevitable! Roberto Mancini’s side are having a quite remarkable season, top of the English Premier League with 12 wins and 2 draws from 14 matches. City will take some stopping, but Bayern are one of the few sides more than capable of matching them. All things considered, backing a draw looks like the outstanding value bet at 16/5 (VictorChandler).