Man City vs. Red Star Belgrade Betting Tips: Back Haaland to bag a brace in Champions League opener

Manchester City begin the defence of their Champions League crown on Tuesday night as they take on Red Star Belgrade. Scott Thornton returns with two data-driven tips for the game from the Etihad. 

Pep Guardiola’s side have been handed a group that they should have no problems in navigating their way through they are the heavy favourites in this one and it’s easy to see why.

They finished last season in remarkable fashion as their relentless winning run helped them scoop up the Premier League, FA Cup and of course the Champions League. City have started this season in a similar manner and they will be hunting all available silverware once again.

Kevin De Bruyne remains absent after he picked up an injury that ruled him out for several months earlier in the season. Mateo Kovacic, John Stones and Jack Grealish have been carrying knocks but they could potentially play a part here. Aleksandar Katai is the only notable absentee for the visitors.

A Champions League fixture is seldom so one-sided on paper and Manchester City are expected to dominate from the off. Pep’s side have already stormed into an early lead in the Premier League and they will want to make a fast start in this competition.

Pep Guardiola may use this fixture to experiment with different playing options. Fortunately for him, the City squad is brimming with talent and whatever side he fields is capable of blowing almost nay opposition in world football.

Red Star Belgrade are four points off the pace in their domestic league having played seven matches. They were beaten 2-1 at the weekend and have lost two of their last three matches.

The signs are ominous for the visitors ahead of this clash. They’ve won just two of their last eight matches in European competition. Over this period they are conceding an average of two goals per game and they haven’t come up against opponents on the same level as Manchester City. Their trickiest opponents over that period has been Monaco. They lost 4-1 at the principality last season.

Manchester City have won their five Premier League matches and picked up the UEFA Super Cup this season. They were beaten on penalties in the Community Shield but that won’t be cause for concern for Guardiola. His City side have conceded an average of just 0.71 goals per game across their seven competitive matches so far.

Earling Haaland and Julian Alvarez have also formed a deadly partnership in attack. Haaland has seven league goals already as he looks to chase down the record he set for goals scored last season. The Norwegian also has an exemplary record in this competition. He has netted 35 times in 30 Champions League matches and was crucial for City as they won the trophy for the first time last season.

We’re backing Haaland to score at least two goals in this one. It’s early days but Haaland could reach the goalscoring heights set by Cristiano Ronaldo in this competition. He scored two as City won their opening match of last year’s competition 4-0 against Sevilla and I’m expecting more of the same here.

Manchester City are incredibly short-priced for this one so coming up with a longer odds bet has proven to be challenging. The strongest side in the competition are facing one of the weakest and all the bookmakers are predicting a massacre.

We can back Haaland to score two and City to score at least five at 3/1 on bet365. This may seem like a lot but City are priced around 1/20 to win this one. They have scored at least four in their last five matches where they have been priced between 1/20 and 2/13 to win. Pep’s side are averaging 4.8 goals per game in those encounters.