Viktoria Plzen vs Manchester City Preview: City hoping for third time lucky in Champions League
Latest Plazen v Man City odds in the Champions League as Manchester City are priced at 4/6 in the betting with Paddy Power to come through victorious as they travel to the Czech Republic to take on a plucky Viktoria Plzen.
After being eliminating in the group stages for the past two seasons, Manchester City will be hoping that they can get through a tricky Group D in their third attempt at the Champions League.
Their first test is a tricky tie against Czech champions Viktoria Plzen who returns to the Champions League for a second time after making their debut back in 2011.
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Many people are labelling City as favourites for the tie and new manager Manuel Pellegrini is set to field his strongest possible line-up after resting some players during the 0-0 draw at Stoke on Saturday.
This means that the likes of Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho and Jesus Navas will all likely start the game as last season’s Premier League runners up look to take the game to Plzen.
After having suffered from a defensive injury crisis at the start of the season, City will also be boosted by the return of club captain Vincent Kompany who has missed the last few games with a groin strain.
But Kompany’s squad are going to have to contend with a Plzen side who are red-hot on form so far this season having not lost any of their 12 games both in Europe and the Gambrinus Liga.
Plzen are undoubtedly running full of confidence and overcame the likes of Bosnian side Zeljeznicar and Slovenian champions Maribor to qualify for the group stages.
Last time the Czech side were in the group stages of the competition, the side came third in their group placing behind European giants such as AC Milan and Barcelona.
Plzen also enjoyed a stellar run in the Europa League last season and even managed to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the competition by knocking out Napoli in the first elimination round with victories both at home and in Italy.
The Czech side will be hoping that some of their more experienced players such as Marian Cisovsky and new signing Milan Petrzela will use their knowledge to test City to their absolute limits.
It’s a game that Manchester City ought to win comfortably but with their poor form in the competition over the past two seasons, anything could happen when the two sides meet on Tuesday evening.
