Manchester City - Young Boys predictions and free betting tips [07/11/2023]

Todat as part of the 4-day group stage of the Champions League, Manchester City will host Young Boys. Both teams will clash two weeks after the Cityzens success in Switzerland with a score of 1:3, with both scoring crushing victories in their domestic leagues over the weekend.

Predicted Line-Up

Manchester City: Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Guardiol; Walker, Rodri, Lewis, Grealish; Doku, Alvarez, Foden. 
Young Boys: Racioppi; Blüm, Kamara, Benito, Garcia; Males, Lauper, Monteiro; Ugrinic; Itten, Elia. 

Stadium

The clash will take place at Manchester's Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City 

After winning the Champions League for the first time in their history in May of this year, Manchester City are confidently moving towards defending their title. The English club is currently steamrolling through the group stage, securing three convincing victories over Red Star Belgrade (3:1), RB Leipzig (1:3), and Young Boys (1:3). As a result, the Sky Blues deservedly sit at the top of their group, leading German RB Leipzig by 3 points. While all is well on the European front, Pep Guardiola's charges aren't exactly dominating the Premier League, continuing their battle for the top spot with Tottenham. After beating Manchester United 0:3 in late October, the 'Cityzens' secured their third consecutive PL victory on Saturday, masterfully dispatching Bournemouth with a score of 6:1. Jeremy Doku not only put in a top performance himself, but also provided four fantastic assists.

At the Etihad, the hosts have been unbeaten in each of the last 27 Champions League matches; only Liverpool (30) can boast a longer undefeated run for English clubs. Aside from playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City have no injury issues. Erling Haaland, who has already struck twice in the Champions League this season and is the Premier League's top scorer with 11 goals in 10 rounds, is expected to lead the line. Alongside him, Argentine Julian Alvarez is making a name for himself with four goals in the league and three more in the Champions League, while young Belgian Doku is getting increasing playing time on the left flank. Rodri, Foden, and Bernardo Silva will contest the open spots in the center of the pitch.

Young Boys

Having missed the Champions League group stage last year, Young Boys are currently trying to make their mark in the elite continental competition. After succumbing at home to RB Leipzig (1:3), the Swiss side picked up their only point so far against Red Star Belgrade (2:2), before losing to Man City (1:3) in the last round. As a result, with only one point to their name and five points behind second place, Bern's side risk focusing exclusively on the fight for the third spot, which would allow them to reach the Europa League knock-out stage. Meanwhile, Young Boys have returned to the top spot in Switzerland, moving one point clear of Zurich and with a game in hand. After draws against Zurich (1:1) and Lugano (1:1), Young Boys won against Winterthur (1:4) on Saturday, regaining top spot in the overall table.

Experienced Imery (5 goals, 4 assists last season) is out for the season after tearing his ACL. It's unlikely that forward Itten (4 goals in 9 league matches) will make it to the Etihad due to illness, a major blow for the Swiss side. On the other hand, Cameroon striker Nsame (5 goals in 10 matches) should be available for selection, as well as Portuguese Joel Monteiro (3 goals). Portuguese striker Joel Monteiro has also had a great start to the campaign (4 goals in the league) and will take up a central attacking position. The starting line-up is likely to include goalkeeper Racioppi and defender Benito, while captain Mohamed Kamara is one yellow card away from missing the crucial match against Red Star.

Head-to-Head

In the first match-up, City claimed an away victory with a scoreline of 1:3.

Match Prediction for Manchester City - Young Boys

The news of Haaland's minor injury inevitably sent shockwaves through Manchester, but inspired by Doku, the 'Cityzens' managed just fine without their top goalscorer over the weekend. It's unlikely that the modest Swiss side will escape the Etihad where City have been bundling over opponents of any level one after the other. My prediction: the hosts will win with a -2,5 handicap.