City will have their work cut out
While Man City are irrepressible domestically, the same cannot be said for their form in the Champions League where they struggle to match the same level of consistency. Tuesday evening sees them head to the Rhein-Neckar-Arena to take on Hoffenheim.
Hoffenheim
The fact their opener against fellow Group F opponents Shakhtar Donetsk was their first ever match in the Champions League mattered not one jot to Hoffenheim, who twice led against their Ukrainian opponents before being pegged back for a credible 2-2 draw.
It’s rare for a team on debut to show such fearlessness and charisma but perhaps this is no surprise given they’re led by one of the most exciting young coaches in the game in Julian Nagelsmann. The 31-year-old is clearly destined for great thing as Leipzig have proved by already announcing him as their manager for the 2019/20 campaign.
No qualms about going toe-to-toe with the best of the best
Before then though, he’ll do his utmost to ensure his Hoffenheim side give as good as they get in trying to work their way out of the group and he’ll certainly have no qualms about going toe-to-toe with the best of the best in the shape of Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
In fact it’s big games such as this which tend to bring the best out of Nagelsmann and his side as was so often the case last year in the Bundesliga with notable wins over Bayern and Leipzig (twice) en route to securing third position and confirming their place among Europe’s elite.
This wouldn’t have been possible without the swashbuckling style of football which saw them rack up 66 goals in their 34 games, bettered only by Champions Bayern. And it’s not in this team’s DNA to go about a game in any other way as City will undoubtedly find out on Tuesday.
Manchester City
City, for all their money and dominance of the Premier League in the past decade, have yet to reach anywhere near the same heights in Europe, the opening loss against Lyon the perfect example of an apparent lack of affinity with the competition.
While this has been true of the past few years, we all know sooner than later that Sheikh Mansour’s millions will come to fruition and City will end up conquering Europe. The bookies seem to think it’ll be this season – they’re backed as outright favourites to win the tournament ahead of Barcelona and, 3 times back-to-back winners Real Madrid, despite failing to seize control of this group early doors.
Another slip-up could see them facing an uphill battle to qualify
It could be argued the unexpected loss to Lyon came at a good time and will serve as the perfect wake-up call for a City side who perhaps expected to win just by turning up. They’ll have to knock such complacency on the head if they’re to go deep into the tournament and will certainly have to take their German opposition seriously here; another slip-up could see them facing an uphill battle to qualify for the knockout rounds, unthinkable for a club the size of City nowadays.
The Citizens have to get used to being the team everybody wants to beat, for Hoffenheim this fixture represents close to a cup final and they’ll be out to make their mark on this competition with a famous result. City will have their work cut out making sure they do not become their next big scalp.
Match Tip
While Man. City simply have to register a victory here to avoid putting themselves under early pressure, I’m just not entirely convinced they’ll get the result they need. The hosts will be spurred on by a near capacity crowd and backed up by a manager not afraid of the big occasion. I do anticipate goals though; both sides love to attack which should make for a great spectacle.
My reservations on City are evident in my tip where I’m backing both teams to score but City Double Chance which produces credible odds of 5/6 (1.85) with Betway.
Post bet chat Nick's Tips:
The hosts started like a house on fire with their first minute goal but the overall quality of the visitors eventually told. On another day Hoffenheim could have held on.