Steaua Bucharest v Manchester City predictions, betting tips, lineups and free bets (Champions League - 16.8.2016)
- Written by Simon Bettarini
Pep Guardiola leads Manchester City into European action for the first time on Tuesday night as the Citizens visit Steaua Bucharest in the first leg of their Champions League play-off. Find below our Steaua Bucharest v Man City betting preview with free predictions, betting tips, probable line-ups, team news, enhanced odds, exclusive bonuses and no deposit free bets on the Champions League qualifiers!
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STEAUA BUCHAREST v MANCHESTER CITY BETTING PREVIEW
Steaua Bucharest have already played six competitive matches and remain unbeaten with 5 wins and a draw. They have won all of their opening three Liga I matches this season and find themselves at the top of the table. Furthermore, Steaua managed to eliminate Sparta Prague in the previous UCL round thanks to a 2-0 home win and a 1-1 draw back in the Czech Republic.
The Romanian powerhouse has a few familiar faces from the national team that was in France's group at Euro 2016 - Adrian Popa, Nicolae Stanciu and Mihai Pintilli. Anyway the latter is out through injurym as well as defensive midfield duo Lucian Filip. The Romanian vice-champions have brought two players last week, midfielders Boldrini and striker William, but they are not expected to get their chance here.
Pep Guardiola’s reign as Manchester City manager got off to a winning start against Sunderland on Saturday courtesy of a late own goal scored by Black Cats' defender Paddy McNair after Jermain Defoe scored the equalizer for Sunderland with 19 minutes left to play. This win might not have been very convincing, but is a certain confidence booster after experiencing a difficult pre-season as they failed to win any of their games in normal time.
Yaya Tourè has not been included in the squad that will play the play-off while captain Vincent Kompany and new signings Ikay Gundogan and Leroy Sane are all out injured. Nasri, Denayer, Bony and Mangala definitely are not in Guardiola's plans, and have been left out. Defender Nicolas Otamendi is also a doubt with a muscular problem while Willi Caballero has been Guardiola's preferred goalkeeper so far and will probably start until the arrive of new signing Claudio Bravo. The likes of Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne are all in line to start up front.
STEAUA BUCHAREST v MANCHESTER CITY PROBABLE LINEUPS
Steaua Bucharest (4-5-1): Florin; Enache, Tamas, Tosca, Popescu; Aganovic, Achim, Bourceanu, Popa A, Stanciu; Tanners
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Caballero; Zabaleta, Stones, Otamendi, Clichy; Delph, Fernandinho; David Silva, Sterling, De Bruyne; Aguero
STEAUA BUCHAREST v MANCHESTER CITY ODDS
| PICK | BEST ODDS | BOOKMAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEAUA BUCHAREST | 8.00 with |  | Bet £10, win £80.00 |
| THE DRAW | 4.60 with |  | Bet £10, win £46.00 |
| MANCHESTER CITY | 5.00 with |  | Bet £10, win £50.00 |
STEAUA BUCHAREST v MANCHESTER CITY PREDICTIONS
| OUR PICKS | BEST ODDS | BOOKMAKER |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester City to win | 5.00 | |
| Under 2.5 goals | 2.12 |  |
| 0-1 Correct Score | 7.50 |  |
| Man City to win to NIL | 2.48 |  |
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