Manchester City v Villarreal Champions League Betting Odds – 18.10.11

Manchester City are already getting to the point of desperation in the UEFA Champions League, after picking up just one point from their opening two fixtures. A home draw against Italians Napoli was followed up by a defeat away at Bayern Munich. That ended in a two nil defeat for Roberto Mancini’s men and was a huge wake up call for the difficult tasks ahead. Now Man City head back to the City of Manchester stadium to take on Villarreal in a crucial match. This is City’s first attempt at the Champions League, and while they are firing on all cylinders in the Premier League, taking over top spot from rivals United on the weekend with a 4-1 win over the previously unbeaten Aston Villa, life has proven to be a bit tougher in the Champions League. This is now a big chance that Manchester City have to take at home, to get some points on the board and keep themselves in contention. Worryingly for City the goals have not been easy to come by, scoring just one in their two matches so far, which is in stark contrast to their incredible goal scoring feats in the Barclays Premier League. But they will now face Spaniards Villarreal who are certainly not as strong as they were last season, and who have yet to pick up a point in Group A so far, after 2-0 defeats against both Napoli and Bayern Munich. When you compare the task that City have in front of them compared to the likes of the easy group draws which Chelsea and Manchester United received for the tournament, they Roberto Mancini’s men definitely drew the short straw. This is a tough group for them to get through. There is not going to be a showing from Carlos Tevez of course for City, as he has been training alone and is the speculation of big transfer rumours now, but the squad’s continued good play in the Premier League should really be a stepping stone to a future without him.

It is translating domestic form into European form, and it has to start on Tuesday for Manchester City. Villarreal are not in any particular great shape at the moment, with just one win out of their first seven matches in La Liga this season. They head to north west England on the back of a 1-1 draw with Mallorca on the weekend, their fourth draw out of seven league matches this season (three in a row in the league). The Spaniards have never lost three European matches in a row, and they have never failed to get out of the group stage of the Champions League. So the pointers are for your Manchester City v Villarreal betting that the home side should be able to get something out of this. City have not lost in thirteen European home matches now and look as if they are only going to get stronger. City have only come up against Spanish opposition three times before, twice back in the 70’s so nothing much to read into there and most recently a 3-1 loss against Real Racing Club in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup. As for Villarreal, their record in England is not great. They win against Everton at Goodison in the 2005/06 Champions League was their only win in five visits to England, drawing twice against Manchester United and losing twice at Arsenal. So all in all, there are positives to look at in your Champions League betting for this one. City look strong and confident, while Villarreal are scrambling for points. Both teams need this one to keep in touch with Bayern Munich and Napoli, who meet on Tuesday in Naples.

Manchester City v Villarreal betting Odds
Man City to win: 3/10 at Bet365
Draw: 17/4 at Unibet
Villarreal to win: 10/1 at Bet365

Online bookmaker Unibet run a Champions League betting special for the season. The highly rated bookie will refund losing Correct Score, Half Time/Full Time, First Goalscorer and Last Goalscorer bets placed on any Champions League match which ends in a 0-0 draw. So if you have a punt on one of those markets and the match plays out to a 0-0 draw, then you will get your lost stake back as insurance. Nice coverage for your football betting from Unibet, who welcome new customers with a £20 Risk Free bet when registering an account.