Manchester City vs Crvena Zvezda tips: Citizens backed to continue impervious European record
Erling Haaland
Planet Sport Bet ambassador Robbie Savage expects Manchester City to turn on the style against 1991 European Cup winners Crvena Zvezda.
No doubt about this, there’ll be goals, goals, goals.
Since their last defeat at the Etihad in the Champions League - that was against Lyon five years ago - they’ve won 24 and drawn two.
In the last few [European] matches, 17 unanswered goals at the Etihad. I think this could be a 5-0 victory for Man City.
You’ve got to look at goalscorers. Look at Haaland, look at Alvarez. Those two to be on the scoresheet. I’m going for a 5-0 Man City win.
Robbie’s Pick: Man City 5-0 Crvena Zvezda
Team news
Pep Guardiola could welcome John Stones, Jack Grealish and Mateo Kovacic back from injury on Tuesday, but talisman Kevin De Bruyne remains out with a long-term injury.
Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva played a starring role in Saturday’s 3-1 win over West Ham, but both could drop to the bench as City take the opportunity to rotate.
Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland are likely to continue in attack, but they could be flanked by Jack Grealish, Phil Foden or even Sergio Gomez, who played a more advanced role on Saturday.
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The returning stones, Kalvin Phillips and Matheus Nunes are all options in deeper-lying midfield roles, while Nathan Ake and Rico Lewis could also start.
Crvena Zvezda will be missing Aleksandr Katai, a seasoned midfielder with 36 European caps, but otherwise have a clean bill of health.
The visitors may be forced to take a conservative approach at the Etihad, abandoning their 3-5-2 setup for a more defensive 4-5-1 with Peter Olayinka or Vladimir Lucic up top.
Man City special Planet Sport Bet offer: Haaland & Alvarez both to score a goal
Key stats
- This is Manchester City’s first meeting with any team from Serbia and their first with opposition from outside the top 10 leagues since 2020.
- City were unbeaten in last season's Champions League, winning all six home matches and scoring 24 goals.
- Crvena Zvezda have played 22 matches against English opposition. They’ve won seven, drawn six and lost nine, being outscored 33-20.
Suggested bets
Manchester City have made a perfect start to the season, lifting the Super Cup and swatting aside Burnley, Newcastle, Sheffield United, Fulham and West Ham to pick up 15 points.
Saturday’s win at West Ham was their most dominant performance so far. Despite trailing against the run of play, City produced 29 shots, eight big chances and an xG value of 3.63.
Erling Haaland contributed 2.56 of that value and arguably could have had a hattrick by the time Bernardo Silva fired them ahead in the 76th minute.
Visitors Crvena Zvezda, more commonly known as Red Star Belgrade, won’t shy away from the challenge. But there’s evidence to suggest an upset is beyond them, and that seem to be the case in most bookmaker markets including with Betway.
The Serbians have made a reasonable start to their domestic season, picking up 15 points from seven matches, but they’ve already dropped six points on their travels.
You have to go back to 2020 to find the last time Man City played a team from outside the top 10 leagues in Europe. Pep Guardiola’s side beat Olympiakos 3-0 and 1-0 that season.
There aren’t many examples of City beating up lowly opposition, but outscoring Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid 17-1 during their previous four home matches tell you all you need to know.
