Manchester City begin their pre-season campaign with a game on Saturday against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions Cup. This is the first time we have seen City this summer, so they are going to be a little rusty, and they also have to contend with numerous key players missing from the team. However, despite that, and partly because of that, they are good value to beat Dortmund on Saturday at the prices.

There is no doubt that this Manchester City team is lacking some of their stars, but of all the English teams right now, they are the one with huge depth and can cope with missing a few. This is a chance for players to shine, who wouldn’t normally get a look in at City, and they will be desperate to impress, and will certainly want to win the game.

Borussia Dortmund have played on game already, a game which they won 1-0 against Austria Wien. That was the first time that new boss Lucien Favre had taken charge and he will be looking to keep his 100% record here. Dortmund have struggled in the past couple of seasons, and are not the same force of old, although they do still have a number of good players of course.

When looking at this game, there didn’t appear to be too much between the expected line ups, and at the prices City have to be backed for success, they are simply too big to ignore. There are negatives attached, they are missing players and this is their first pre-season game of the summer, but it is not often you get the chance to back them to win a game at 2.90.

Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund Champions Cup

Manchester City fans will have been looking forward to this game since the World Cup finished, but they will have to make do with a makeshift team in this one, with many players missing. However, those who are going to play in this game will be hungry and they will want to impress with this opportunity. While places are not really up for grabs in the league, there will be players on the field looking to either show they need a move away on loan to enhance their skills or be given opportunities in the lesser cup competitions that City play throughout the year.

Borussia Dortmund have to be respected here and they have a far stronger line up to choose from, as well as having the advantage of already playing together this summer. However, in this 50/50 game, the bookmakers have the prices wrong for me and the value is all with Manchester City.

At 2.90, City are a very big price to win this game, even when you take into account their likely lineup will be full of fringe players and youngsters. However, it is those players that will be desperate to show they have something to offer, and they will want to win this game. You don’t get the chance to back Manchester City at this price too often, so I’m going to take advantage of it this weekend and back them to win in the Champions Cup.

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