the final of three games between Premier League and Bundesliga teams is this clash between Manchester City and Schalke. It is the only tie that has the English team playing away from home first, but despite that this is the only tie where the English team is odds on to win. Manchester City will be looking to use their dominance to take a lead home with them from this tie, and that would really put them in the driving seat as far as qualification to the next round goes.

Looking at the two teams from qualifying and how they are doing domestically so far, this should be an easy tie for City to win, and they are rightfully very short odds to qualify for the next round. They are amongst the favourites to win the whole competition, and performed very well in the group stages after an early slip up against Lyon.

Schalke on the other hand finished second in what was the easiest group of the round. They had Portuguese team Porto ahead of them, and finished above Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moscow. They only won three group games, despite an easy group and this is a huge step up in class, and they are going to have to be at their very best just to even compete with City in the two games they play.

Had City been at home in the first leg then they would have been strongly fancied to score a few goals and build up a commanding lead over their counterparts. Being away from home makes things slightly tougher for them, but that shouldn’t be enough to stop them, and if Schalke don’t watch themselves here, this tie could be all over before they board the plane and come to England for the second leg.

Time for Manchester City to Succeed in Europe?

Manchester City are amongst the favourites to win the Champions League this season and rightly so with the squad that they have. However, we have seen them struggle in Europe in the past when they have had good squads assembled, will they do the same again or can they finally lift a European trophy for their fans.

They dominated the Premier League last season, but failed in Europe and while they have a much tougher task on their hands to win the Premier League this time around, they have to find a way to do better in the Champions League.

Winning in Europe is not easy, and early failures were put down to City not having much experience in Europe and not knowing how to win in the competition. However, now they have that, and there will come a time when the fans and the board want more than just domestic success, and that means winning this trophy.

To do that I don’t think it is all about investment in the squad, it is more about their mental approach to the games and the competition as a whole. They have all the talent in the world at their disposal, and a squad that is as deep as any others in Europe, but that is not enough. Instead they need to think like European champions, and play the game like they do.

Real Madrid are a fantastic example of this. They have won the last three Champions League trophies, and four out of the last five. While they do have a great squad of players, they have not always had the very best, instead they have relied on their European experience and knowledge to see them through. While I don’t expect Manchester City to pick this up overnight and turn into a dominant European force like Real Madrid, they do have to show they are improving and they are learning from the defeats they suffer.

The Premier League is of course the main aim for Manchester City this season, but they have to show signs of progress in this competition if they are not going to win it. They have to be reaching the semi finals at least this season, and going close to winning the trophy. There is a lot to like about this team, but for whatever reason they don’t quite yet seem to have the right mindset to win on the big European stage.

The longer this goes on, the more pressure they will have on the shoulders to make something happen, so City need to act fast and show just why many regard them as one of the best football teams in the world.

Schalke vs Manchester City Betting Tips

This game represents a great opportunity for Manchester City to qualify for the next round of the Champions League, and I strongly fancy them to take advantage of it. This Schalke team is an average team in Germany, but now in the knockout round of this competition, they don’t appear to have the quality to trouble many of the remaining teams, let alone Manchester City who are one of the favourites to win the competition outright.

I think City will go out and attack here to try and take an advantage home with them and that is exactly what I think they will do. We will see them playing a strong team, and I fancy them to not only win the game, but to win it by a couple of goals, covering the -1 handicap line. If Schalke are to have any chance of winning this tie then they have to take a lead to the second leg, and find a way to keep City off the scoresheet. Far better teams have already tried and failed to do that this season, and I think we will be able to add Schalke to that list.

I’m going for a comfortable City win in this one, and I’m backing them on the -1 handicap line to win this by a couple of goals. That gives them full control of the tie, and that would leave the second leg at the Etihad Stadium being nothing more than a formality that would need to be played.

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