Man City vs PSG Tips: Back Bernardo to find the book

Live on BT Sport, Manchester City host PSG in this all important Champions League group stage clash at the Etihad Stadium this Wednesday at 8pm. The hosts will be looking to avenge their September defeat at the Parc Des Princes back at home soil. City currently top the group with 9 points from 4 games while the visitors are 1 point behind them in 2nd place with 8 points so the top spot in Group A remains up for grabs.

Manchester City come into this game full of confidence winning their last 3 games in a row in all competitions by an aggregate score of 9-1.

They are unbeaten against PSG at the Etihad, beating them 2-0 & 1-0 in their last 2 head to head meetings here. The visitors have looked shaky away from home recently, winning just 2 out of their last 6 away games and will now be up against one of Europe’s best teams. 

This has all the makings of a blockbuster clash as we have 2 star-studded lineups going up against each other. With Messi, Neymar and Mbappe set to start as PSG’s front 3, I personally feel Manchester City are a bit too short in the market to back for the win here so I have included 3 of my best betting angles that have value in the preview below:

Team News:

Kevin De Bruyne and Ferran Torres are out for Manchester City while Grealish is doubtful.
Julian Draxler and Rafinha are out for PSG while Donnarumma and Kimpember are doubtful.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
 Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; Silva, Rodri, Gundogan; Mahrez, Jesus, Foden

PSG possible starting lineup:
 Navas; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Mendes; Verratti, Gueye, Wijnaldum; Messi, Mbappe, Neymar  

This is a huge game for both teams in terms of claiming that top spot in the group which could potentially result in having to face a slightly weaker opponent in the knockout stages. This means there will be tackles flying in from both sides and with a card happy ref in Daniele Orsato in charge of this clash, we can expect plenty of bookings here.

He is usually a bit lenient in the 1st half but dishes out most of the cards in the 2nd half, so I am going for a card for each team in the 2nd half and the away side to get 2 cards, as they have done so in 6/7 of their away games in the French league so far.

For the final selection, I am expecting an open game with 2 attacking sides and atleast 1 goal should be a banker in this one. Combining all these selections gives us a solid betbuilder @ 4/5 and I am happy to make that as our main 1pt bet.

Bernardo Silva has the knack of picking up yellow cards in big games and this is a massive clash against the best team in France. He will be on the right hand side of the midfield and could go up against the tricky Neymar which could result in him picking up a booking. He is 7/2 for a card with Betfair and considering we have a card-happy ref in charge, I think we are getting good value for a small 0.5pt stake bet.

Parades was shown five yellows and one red card in just 21 appearances in the French top-flight last season and with no Verrati this evening he looks primed for a card. Kyle Walker is Manchester City’s man to cover up on the counter and often found himself in 1 on 1 situations with the likes of Neymar and Mbappe in the reverse leg. If that happens again, I can easily see him picking up a yellow card for halting a PSG counterattack. He had 3 tackles in the reverse leg so adding 1 here boosts up the odds to 25/1. Overall, this looks like a fantastic longshot and I am happy to stake a very small 0.25pt on it.