MAN City play their first ever game in the Champions League Last 8 as they face PSG in Paris. Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) gives us his view on the game.
PSG v Manchester City | Wednesday 19:45 | BT Sport Europe
It’s uncharted territory for Man City here as they join the elite in the Champions League Quarter-Finals this season. Their opponents, PSG, have made steady progress through European football in recent seasons and are playing in this round for the fourth successive campaign.
In each of the three previous seasons PSG fell short of reaching the semi-finals but after two ties against Barcelona and a gritty Chelsea side this match-up provides them with the best opportunity yet of reaching the next stage.
PSG have simply blitzed through their domestic season and clinched the title last month after losing just one of their 30 league matches at that point.
Their dominance has made the lustre of Ligue 1 less strong and a better indicator of their talent can be found in their Champions League matches this season.
They tore apart group rivals Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo in their four fixtures against them scoring 12 with no reply but they failed to register a win in their two matches against Real Madrid.
Shares were spoiled in Paris when they drew 0-0 in October but the following match two weeks later in Spain saw them go down 1-0 in gallant style. It’s certainly a strong line of form.
In the Last 16 round they proved too strong for Chelsea not once but twice with the aggregate win of two goals doing them a disservice in all honesty.
Taking on the Man City who have performed in the English Premier League this season should see PSG go through without too much debate but the fact is the English side have been far superior in Europe in 2015/16.
Yet again Manuel Pellegrini’s side were handed an awful draw but they dealt with it with aplomb this time round winning home and away over Europa League holders Sevilla and Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach.
It was only against Juventus where they slipped up both times and that is a concern as the Old Lady are definitely on a level which this City side have yet to reach in Europe.
Their Last 16 fixture proved kind against Dynamo Kiev, and after winning 3-1 in the Ukraine they eased up in the second leg and the game finished goalless at the Etihad Stadium.
City surely have given up the Premier League title now (15 points behind Leicester) so this is their last chance to end the season with a semblance of style.
If you were a handicapper and rating all their performances this season, there’s no doubt that most of the top-end ratings have come in the Champions League. I’d expect that level to be reproduced over the two legs here.
I’m going to back Both Teams To Score on Wednesday night as I think City can be competitive here. There hasn’t been a huge improvement from PSG’s away form into their home form this Champions League season and on what City have done on their travels in the competition they deserve respect.
On top of that main bet I’ll have a play on a couple of Correct Scores at big prices. 17/1 for a 2-2 draw in the game looks particularly big at the prices.
Best Bets
PSG v Manchester City – Both Teams To Score (5/6 BetVictor)
PSG v Manchester City – PSG to win 2-1 (8/1 BetVictor)
PSG v Manchester City – 2-2 Draw (17/1 BetVictor)
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