Europa League
2012-02-16 - FC Porto vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Football : Europe : Europa League
Thursday, February 16th, 2012, 8:05PM GMT
PREVIEW
Manchester City continue to play European football but now in the Europa League. It's not what they had hoped for, and while it is a distraction to their fight for the Premier League title, at least they know their hated rivals Manchester United are also having to travel to play in the same competition.
City have arrived here without Tevez, who continues to be a knob despite coming back from his 3 month break in Argentina. Mancini has a strong side available to him and it looks likely he will go for it a bit here to put one foot in the next round before Porto come back for the 2nd leg of this tie. While Tevez is still out, there is welcome news of Balotelli returning for this match. The brothers Toure are also back and with the team following the African Cup Of Nations final a few days ago.
Porto lost out to APOEL and Zenit and are so now playing in the Europa League but they are no pushovers. Domestically, they have been in excellent form, winning their last 6 home games straight and 9 of their last 10. They've done well overall too, losing just 1 of their last 13 matches. This is a side that lies 2nd in Portugal and have a history of playing tough at home. Manchester City have had some very tough matches back in England recently, and it might mean they have to struggle a bit here.
The best bet for me looks to be a draw, as Manchester City will look to at least score so they have an away goal if not a lead to take back to the Etihad. Porto, ever dangerous, will be able to score against Manchester City, in my opinion, as they have performed pretty poorly away from home in Europe, albeit in the Champions League. And Porto are very much a Champions League quality team.
BETTING VERDICT
Both sides should cancel each other out and I see this ending 1-1. So, either take the draw for high odds, or stick to Both Teams To Score, depending on your risk appetite.
The Pick :
Draw
BEST BETTING TIP :
MAIN BET:Take the Draw @ 3.35 (Pinnacle)
Also consider:
Both Teams To Score @ 1.75 (Bet365)
