Manchester City welcome the visitors Schalke 04 in the Champions League Playoffs – 1/8 Finals. The match will be held on Tuesday, March, 12th, at the Etihad Stadium (Manchester).
Manchester City have a solid advantage over Schalke 04 after their 3:2 win out. This is, at root, the most unequal pair of contenders at the 1/8 Finals stage: the ‘Citizens’ are toppers, while ‘Die Konigsblauen’ can hardly be labeled a middle-class side. City’s form is outstanding, while Schalke struggle domestically. Should we expect a hammering at the hands of the hosts? We don’t think we should. Why would City put extra effort when they’ve just topped the Premiere League standings and need to get rid of the persistent Liverpool? We’d rather expect the hosts’ pragmatic play with no blistering result.
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Well, there is nothing, actually, that Germans can do about it. They failed the home leg – the 2:3 defeat is not a good one, they’d better have lost with a 0:1 scoreline. At this, Schalke outnumbered for a while in the second half-time. As noted above, there is no point for the ‘Citizens’ to attack a lot and waste their effort that they will require in the end of the season, which, certainly, benefits the guests who are not doing well. Manchester, if they wished, could beatdown Schalke, but, given their latest performance, they clearly save the energy: even competing with frugal sides domestically, they feature 1:0 wins. Therefore, the German outfit will probably avoid a drubbing.
We’re predicting a +2.5 handicap. It does not make any sense for the homeside to down the opponents. City have too much to do domestically, to go all out tomorrow.
Prediction for the match: Schalke 04 to win with a +2.5 handicap.