Atletico v Man City betting tips: Scrappy affair likely in Madrid
Atletico v Man City betting tips and odds
The dust has barely settled on Sunday’s pulsating clash with title rivals Liverpool than Manchester City turn their attention to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for which they are 4/5 favourites and just 1/9 to qualify.
City head to the Spanish capital holding a one-goal lead courtesy of a goal from Kevin De Bruyne, who opened the scoring in the 2-2 draw with the Merseysiders at the weekend.
The first leg was a tense and tight affair, so let’s examine some of the talking points for Wednesday’s game in our Atletico v Man City betting tips.
Atletico v Man City form
City go into the match having lost just twice in 31 outings in all competitions, 25 of which were victories, so it’s small wonder they are odds-on to complete the double against the Spanish champions.
The Premier League leaders dominated the first half against Liverpool and despite being “happy with the way we played”, Pep Guardiola felt his side had missed an opportunity to put daylight between themselves and their title rivals, who remain a point behind with seven games remaining.
City, though, lost at both PSG and RB Leipzig in the group stage and they are 18/5 to lose at the end of normal time, while the hosts are 5/1 to qualify.
How good was Gabby yesterday? 🙌✨#ManCity | @gabrieljesus9 pic.twitter.com/PlyALD91NL
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 11, 2022
Atletico had won their last six Liga games heading to relegation-threatened Mallorca at the weekend, but were surprisingly beaten 1-0, a result which leaves their top-four hopes up in the air.
Diego Simeone’s side have been strong at home (W10 D3 L2) this season which probably explains why they parked the bus at the Etihad, but it should not be forgotten they lost home and away to Liverpool in the group stage.
The Reds won a wild, incident-packed game 3-2 at the Wanda Metropolitano and so we go 11/4 on the visitors to win and both teams to score in our Atletico v Man City betting tips or 6/5 on a victory and over 1.5 goals.
🎙 The words of Simeone after the Mallorca – Atleti pic.twitter.com/YArsWJ7UUX
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) April 9, 2022
City can also be backed at 11/8 to win and under 3.5 match goals, but the Colchoneros will have to take chances at some point and that’s when their back line could be exposed by the swift counter-attacks of the 7/4 Champions League co-favourites.
A cagey start is expected and with that in mind, Draw HT/Man City FT is available at 16/5, while another goalless first half is 31/20.
Atletico v Man City head to head
Guardiola is expecting another war of attrition against Atletico who clearly went to the Etihad looking for a draw in the first leg.
The Spaniard said: “It was a difficult game against a tough opponent. For 25-30 minutes we played 5-5-0 as it was so difficult to find the spaces. But we were patient enough, except in the first 5-10 minutes of the second half, when we attacked with not the right rhythm.
“It was a good result. Unfortunately at the end we (missed) one or two more chances to score but 1-0 going to Madrid gives you confidence.”
Guardiola expects the second leg to be a stop-start affair with Atletico attempting to disrupt City’s rhythm.
He said: “I guess part of the game will be more of what happened in the last 15-20 minutes after the goal. This is my feeling. We have to prepare and adapt.”
That said, City are fast starters, scoring 15 times inside the first quarter of an hour in the Premier League this season and are 9/2 to be ahead after 15 minutes.
If Simeone’s tactics work, it could be a frustrating evening for City, who are 14/1 to win in extra time or 20/1 on penalties, with the hosts 25/1 and 20/1 respectively to advance that way.
Atletico v Man City team news
Simeone made three changes for the defeat to Mallorca with the City game in mind, resting Joao Felix and starting with Luis Suarez.
Yannick Carrasco returns from suspension, while Renan Lodi and Sime Vrsaljko will return having come on as second-half substitutes on Saturday in a bid to overturn a losing position.
Guardiola is unlikely to risk centre-back Ruben Dias who has been struggling with a hamstring injury, while Gabriel Jesus’ suspension means Riyad Mahrez is likely to start in Madrid.
Goalscorer odds
Mahrez is the 4/1 favourite to break the deadlock, but De Bruyne looks a better bet at 5/1, having scored in his last four games, three of which were in the fifth minute!
The Belgium midfielder is 2/1 to get on the scoresheet, the same price as Raheem Sterling who had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside decision against his former club Liverpool.
6️⃣ goals in 6️⃣ games for @DeBruyneKev! 👑#ManCity pic.twitter.com/go2MagUI6r
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 10, 2022
Phil Foden made the difference in the first leg when he was introduced as a substitute and he is 13/2 and 13/5 in the two markets.
Left-back Joao Cancelo loves nothing more than bombing forward and having a pop at goal and is 33/1 to draw first blood and 12/1 to find the net.
Felix is 13/2 to get the ball rolling from the Atletico contingent, the same odds as Angel Correa and Suarez, while Antoine Griezmann, who scored twice in the home leg against Liverpool, is 7/1 or 14/5 to score.
Match Info
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: 20:00, Wednesday 13th April
How to watch: BT Sport
View the latest Champions League odds
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
