Manchester City VS Hoffenheim Match Prediction
2018-12-12
20:00:00
Manchester City
VS
Hoffenheim
Our Prediction Tip
Manchester City will win this match.
2018-12-1220:00:00 Manchester City will win this match.
Manchester City came from behind to beat Hoffenheim in their only previous game. Ishak Belfodil scored in the first minute but Sergio Aguero hit back on seven minutes and David Silva won it late on.
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Manchester City suffered their first major blow of the season at the weekend but can hit back straight away by securing top spot in their Champions League group.
Hoffenheim have been hampered by injuries this season and now have Adam Szalai suspended too, and even if City opt to rotate their squad they have plenty of strength in depth to beat the German side.
Gabriel Jesus scored a hat-trick in Manchester City’s most recent Champions League home game, without playing at his best, and that is emblematic of City’s supreme attacking talent.
They did not take their chances against Chelsea, however, so an early goal could be key to settling some nerves this time around.
Even without Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva, however, City have the attacking prowess to break down the Hoffenheim defence.
Jesus will be up front, while a combination of Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane will be pulling the strings around him.
City are favourites, and so they should be on home soil, and a professional performance – even if they rotate players – should be enough to secure top spot in the group.
Manchester City are 1/5 favourites to beat Hoffenheim given their superb home form, with Bet365, Ladbrokes, Betway and 10Bet offering that price.
City’s last Champions League home game produced six goals for the hosts and over 3.5 goals again will return a best price of 9/10 with Betfair.
Both teams to score has been set at 5/6 with Betway, meanwhile. City to win and BTTS is 27/20 with Ladbrokes.
Gabriel Jesus should start in Sergio Aguero’s absence and, after his hat-trick against Shakhtar Donetsk, is 8/11 with Betway and 888sport to score at any time.
Manchester City will want to put the Chelsea result behind them as soon as possible, and a Champions League tie at home to Hoffenheim is the perfect opportunity to do that.
David Silva limped off with a tight hamstring against Chelsea and therefore joins an injury list that already includes Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne and Benjamin Mendy. Phil Foden could be handed a start as City need just a point to qualify, while other rotation could see a start for captain Vincent Kompany. Gabriel Jesus did not start against Chelsea but with Aguero out and having scored a hat-trick at home to Shakhtar Donetsk, the Brazilian could return.
Gabriel Jesus – Desperate to get back in the goals and his hat-trick against Shakhtar Donetsk, including two successful penalties, showed he still has the magic touch.
Phil Foden – If he starts, this will be a big opportunity for City’s teenage prodigy to impress – as he has done on other starts already this season, such as in the Community Shield.
Raheem Sterling – The England winger has been in sublime form on the pitch again, with plenty of goals and assists, even while dealing with abuse off it.
Manchester City go into this game on the back of their first league defeat of the season, suffering a 2-0 reverse at Chelsea on Saturday. It came off the back of two Premier League wins since their Champions League draw with Lyon, during which they twice came back from a goal down. Since then, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan scored in a 3-1 home win against Bournemouth before Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez were on target in a 2-1 victory at Watford.
Hoffenheim continue to struggle with injuries, with Havard Nordtveit, Dennis Geiger, Lukas Rupp, Nadiem Amiri and David Otto all sidelined Florian Grillitsch and Benjamin Hubner have both returned lately, however, and both could be in line to start. Adam Szalai is suspended, meanwhile, which could mean a return for Joelinton.
Reiss Nelson – The Arsenal loanee has tended to feature from the bench this season but he has scored six times so far this season.
Joelinton – Adam Szalai’s absence sets him up for a return up front, having scored eight goals and bagged seven assists so far this season.
Andrej Kramaric – The Croatian forward has scored ten times so far this season, topping the Hoffenheim charts as a result.
Hoffenheim are without a win in four matches, drawing three and losing in the last-minute to Shakhtar Donetsk in their most-recent Champions League game. Andrej Kramaric and Steven Zuber helped them recover from 2-0 down but Adam Szalai was sent off before the visitors’ late winner. Since then, Hoffenheim have drawn 1-1 with Schalke 04 – Kramaric scoring from the spot – before a 2-2 draw with Wolfsburg, in which Ishak Belfodil and Kramaric again scored the goals.
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