Undefeated Roma Good Value For Manchester City Tie

Manchester City host Roma tonight (30th September, 19:45) in what will be perhaps the single worst way of following a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of German champions Bayern Munich. Jerome Boateng`s thunderbolt of a strike hit the back of City`s net in the last minute of normal time before Sergio Aguero missed a last-gasp gilt-edged opportunity to equalise. Meanwhile, in their Group E opener, the Serie A runners-up completed a comprehensive turning over of Russian champions CSKA Moscow. A productive opening 20 minutes saw Rudi Garcia`s men go 3-0 up thanks to goals from Juan Iturbe, Gervinho and Maicon before a second on-target Gervinho strike sent the Yellow-Reds four to the good at half-time. An early second-half own-goal from experienced defender Sergei Ignashevich made it five, and saw Ahmed Musa`s 83rd minute tap-in a mere formality. Roma are yet to drop a point in any competition this season.

Despite this, it is Manchester City who are the favourites to pick up all three points at the Etihad Stadium tonight and record their first Champions League win of the campaign. Skybet have Manuel Pellegrini`s side 8/11 to dispatch the visitors. Roma have to be good value at 9/2 (Numerous) for the win, whilst a draw can be picked up at 16/5 with betfair.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart is expected to return after being rested for the Sheffield Wednesday Capital One Cup game later saw him dropped for the clash against Hull City. Willie Caballero made a positive impression in the 7-0 thrashing of Championship Wednesday though conceded a Eliaquim Mangala own-goal and a Abel Hernandez penalty in the team`s hard-fought 4-2 victory away at the KC Stadium at the weekend. England number one Hart told a press conference that whilst he was keen to play every game, he understood that the decision as to whether he did or not was not his.

`Of course I want to play every game, that is my nature, my professionalism.` The 27-year-old said. `I am not the manager, just a player. I live by the decisions of our manager.`

Coral have Hart at 16/5 to make an impact on his comeback and keep a clean sheet whilst the same bookmakers are also offering 7/2 on a Sky Blues win to nil.

Stevan Jovetic`s recovery from a hamstring injury means that Pellegrini has further strength and depth in attacking areas. The 24-year-old Montenegrin had picked up the knock when on international duty and has not played for his domestic club since the home side`s shocking 1-0 Premier league defeat against Stoke City. The striker scored two important goals in his club`s 3-1 victory over Liverpool and is 13/8 (Betbright) to bag his first Champions League goal of the season. City will still be without midfielders Samir Nasri and Fernando, the former likely to miss another six games after undergoing surgery on his groin. Fernando may be fit enough to play a part in Saturday`s match-up with Aston Villa.

From a British perspective, perhaps the single most important bit of news from the Roma camp is whether or not former-England full-back Ashley Cole will start. The 33-year-old signed for the Italian giants after being released by Chelsea following a eight year stint at the club. Cole made his debut for the Serie A side in their opening day 2-0 win over Fiorentina and has featured in three subsequent league games, contributing to a clean sheet in each. The Wolves are 17/2 to keep the ball out of their net against City tonight having conceded only twice all season. Bearing in mind this solid record, It`s 14/1 (bet365, william hill) for one goal to be the difference between the two sides.

Go To bet365

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30/09/2014     © Frixo 2024