Schalke 04 VS Manchester City Match Prediction
2019-02-20
20:00:00
Schalke 04
VS
Manchester City
Our Prediction Tip
Manchester City will win this match.
2019-02-2020:00:00 Manchester City will win this match.
Manchester City and Schalke 04 have played three previous matches against each other in the UEFA Champions League. City won 5-2 on aggregate in the European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals in 1970, thanks to a 5-1 home win, on their way to winning overall. And, most recently, goals from Benjani and Stephen Ireland earned a 2-0 City win in Gelsenkirchen in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup group stage.
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With one win in five games and a concerning injury list, things do not look good for Schalke 04, and it is unlikely to get any better with Manchester City next up.
City are in red-hot form in front of goal, not least Sergio Aguero – who has hit hat-tricks against Arsenal and Chelsea in recent weeks.
Though they are competing on four fronts, they had the luxury of resting Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne among others as they saw off Newport County in the FA Cup at the weekend.
Both are likely to return, as could in-form Raheem Sterling, as they look to put themselves in firm control of this tie.
Schalke, on their day, could be tricky opposition but they will admit they got a favourable group to progress to this stage.
The likes of Matija Nastasic and Rabbi Matondo will want to prove points against their former team but realistically they were sold by City for a reason – namely they had better options.
For Matondo, at his age, it remains to be seen if – as with Jadon Sancho – his sale was premature, but for now, Schalke have it all to do if they even want to stay in this tie.
With City scoring goals for fun, the Premier League leaders could establish a sizable lead to take back to the Etihad with them.
Manchester City are 2/7 with Bet365, Betfair and Betway to beat Schalke on Wednesday night.
Schalke have struggled defensively in some recent games and City have been rampant in attack and over 3.5 goals could be worth a look at a best price of 7/5 with Betfair and Paddy Power.
A City win by three goals, meanwhile, will return 9/2 with Betfair – they have the firepower to achieve exactly that, especially with Sergio Aguero in such good form.
On the topic of the Argentine striker, he is 8/11 with Ladbrokes and Betway to score at any time. Raheem Sterling, who scored twice against Chelsea, is 6/5 with 888sport.
Manchester City are in red-hot form in front of goal and will want to put this tie to bed with a big first-leg lead – as they are very capable of doing.
Rabbi Matondo could start against his former club – he is one of two ex-City players in Schalke’s squad alongside Matija Nastasic. Breel Embolo (foot) is definitely out, and he has been joined on the sidelines lately by Benjamin Stambouli, Alessandro Schopf and Steven Skrzybski. Guido Burgstaller is fit again, however.
Rabbi Matondo – While he may not feature, if the Welsh youngster does start he could make a real statement against his former team after not managing to force his way into the reckoning at the Etihad.
Salif Sane – Scored twice in the win against Fortuna Dusseldorf and needs to be on his game defensively now if Schalke are to get anything out of this match.
Mark Uth – Four goals in 23 appearances is far from prolific but he is a useful outlet up front and could keep City’s defenders busy.
Schalke have dropped down the Bundesliga table after winning just one of their last five matches. That win - a 4-1 defeat of Fortuna Dusseldorf in which Salif Sane scored twice - was sandwiched by defeats to Borussia Monchengladbach (2-0) and Bayern Munich (3-1). Ahmed Kutucu scored Schalke's goal in the latter but they drew a blank last time out, in a goalless draw with Freiburg.
Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero were both rested for the FA Cup win at Newport and are likely to return. Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva could also start having been on the bench, with De Bruyne, at Rodney Parade.
Sergio Aguero – Premier League hat-trick against Arsenal and Chelsea prove the Argentine is in red-hot form.
David Silva - Hailed for his tenacity against Newport but it his creativity, vision and skill that have made him a firm fans’ favourite at City.
Kevin de Bruyne – Fit again and being carefully managed, the Belgian will be key for Manchester City over the next few months.
Manchester City have lost just once in 2019 and have bounced back from that 2-1 defeat with four straight wins. Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win against Arsenal, before Aymeric Laporte and Gabriel Jesus sent City top by scoring in a 2-0 defeat of Everton. Another Aguero hat-trick, two goals for Raheem Sterling and one for Ilkay Gundogan earned a 6-0 win at home to Chelsea, before Phil Foden scored twice - between goals by Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez - as City beat Newport County 4-1 in the FA Cup last time out. Manchester City Predicted Starting Line-up
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