Juventus v Manchester City: Ladbrokes price boost primed to land

Going to Turin on the back of a 4-1 home defeat wouldn’t have been the plan for Manchester City ahead of their Champions League clash with Juventus.

But after their embarrassment at the hands of Liverpool, you can bet your life that the Citizens will be out to make a statement in Italy.

Their manager will certainly be expecting a response after the weekend’s exploits.

“I am more than angry, it was a complete disaster,” was how Manuel Pellegrini described his emotions on Saturday evening.

The Manchester outfit are 5/2 to secure the victory that would guarantee top-spot in Group D, with the hosts a 5/4 chance to come out on top, while the draw is priced up at 23/10.

Instead of the straight win-draw-win markets punters would be better placed taking note of Ladbrokes’ price boost for the encounter at the Juventus Stadium.

The bookmaker has boosted the price on City winning with both teams finding the back of the net from 11/2 to 13/2.

While it will be a big ask for the visitors to return to these shores with three points – Juventus have only lost four times at home in all competitions – the price boost on offer looks a spot of value.

One reason being that if the English side are to bag a win, it is unlikely to be totally on their terms.

Not only have City’s three wins so far in the competition seen both sides find the net, but the same has happened in nine of their last 11 fixtures in Europe.

Throw in that the Old Lady have only failed to score in one of their last eight games in front of their own fans and you’d expect Joe Hart to be picking the ball out of the back of his net at some point this evening.

Pellegrini will be keen to go to Turin and leave with top-spot already sewn up to ensure they avoid a likely match up with one of Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Real Madrid, should they finish second in the group.

Those opting for a punt on the first goalscorer market could be hoping that happens sooner rather than later as well.

For all games involving English teams in European competitions if your first goalscorer selection opens the scoring inside the first 25 minutes of the match, Ladbrokes will double your odds.

So if Paulo Dybala follows up from opening the scoring in two of Juve’s last three home fixtures in the early stages, it will be 10/1, rather than the original 5/1 that you will be paid out at.

While progression from the group is guaranteed, the chance to book a potentially easier route through the competition will be massive for City and Pellegrini, but it could also be huge for punters if they play their cards right.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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