Since Sheikhs Mansour bought Manchester City in 2008, the club has spent nearly $2 billion on signings. It’s clear that the owner wants to see the return on investment in the form of titles. So far, this team’s won five Premier League titles and two FA Cups. However, Sky Blues are still without a Champions League trophy, which is the holy grail of modern soccer.
Online sportsbooks see Manchester City as the #1 favorite to win the 2022 Champions League with the odds of +187. What needs to worry this team’s fans is that practically the same was the case last year. They did come close, though. In fact, Sky Blues reached the final where they lost to Chelsea.
Can they do better this time? They might, but they might also end their journey in the quarterfinal. The thing is that Atletico Madrid just loves playing against English teams. Just three weeks ago, Atleti knocked out Manchester United from the competition. Can they do the same to United’s city-rival? Let’s find out!
Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid Odds (Champions League, 2022)
All odds are per bet365 as of April 1.
1X2
| Manchester City | -303 |
| Draw | +375 |
| Atletico Madrid | +800 |
Over/Under
| Over 2.5 | -125 |
| Under 2.5 | +100 |
Where and When to Watch
- Date: Tuesday, April 5
- Time: 3:00 PM EDT
- Location: Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England
- Watch: CBS Sports (English), Univision (Spanish)
Manchester City Fighting a Multi-Pronged Battle
Pep Guardiola would love to see his boys win big in Leg 1 of the Champions League quarterfinal as it would allow them to switch their focus to other competitions.
The Premier League is what worries them the most, as that’s where they’re leading a two-horse race with Liverpool. Further, this team’s also in the competition for the FA Cup, which is where they’ve qualified for the semifinals.
Fighting on three different fronts isn’t easy for any team, even Manchester City, which is famous for its long bench. Guardiola has a large squad packed with amazing players whom he can rotate in order to get the best of them in every game.
Still, this doesn’t mean that Sky Blues can dominate every single match. This goes especially for the fact that they haven’t been great in the offense in the past few weeks. Sure, they did blow-out Southampton 4-1 in their most recent game, but before that, Man City played 0-0 in two straight games.
This could mean problems for them on Tuesday as they’re locking horns with a team famous for its defense.
Atleti Love Playing in England
On March 15, Atletico Madrid played at Old Trafford in Manchester against the Red Devils. Despite being the betting underdog, Atletico ended up winning 1-0. This wasn’t the first time Atleti beat a favorite in England.
Two years ago, Diego Simeone’s team did the same at Anfield. After playing 2-2 with Liverpool in 90 minutes, Atletico knocked the Reds out of the Champions League in extra time.
In both of those games, Atletico defenders did a wonderful job. Can they do it again? They might. You can be sure that Simeone’s strategy will be to “park the bus” in front of the goal, looking for chances from counterattacks. The only question is will this tactic work?
Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid Prediction
Manchester City is seen as the favorite for a reason – Sky Blues are better than Atleti. Still, we could see them struggle to find the net on Tuesday evening. That said, we probably aren’t going to see too many goals.
Pick: Manchester City to win; under 2.5 goals