Sports Blog 08/12/2015: Match Preview – UEFA Champions League, Tuesday 8th December 2015

So, it’s come to this – the final round of Champions League group games is nigh, with both Manchester sides in varying states of qualified.

Manchester United still have a fair amount to do if they want to escape an incredibly tight Group B, facing the tricky task of a decisive trip to the Volkswagen Arena to face Wolfsburg at 7.45pm on BT Sport Europe. To avoid being reliant on PSV Eindhoven’s results against CKSA Moscow (with the Dutch side having the superior head-to-head record against United) Louis van Gaal really needs a win in Wolfsburg.



However, United haven’t exactly been in the best form; in their past 4 games they have managed a win against Watford (thanks to a 90th minute own goal from Troy Deeney) and draws against Leicester, West Ham and PSV. To put it simply United have been painfully dull; in fact the last time they scored more than 2 goals in a match (itself somewhat of a rarity) was back in mid-October. With Wayne Rooney injured (something many would say is a blessing not a curse) the pressure will fall on Anthony Martial and Juan Mata (both on 5 goals apiece, and at Super Mega PGMs of 16-20 and 12-16 respectively) to supply the forward flair they have only shown in spurts so far this season.

Frustratingly for United, Wolfsburg aren’t completely out of the woods yet either. Sitting atop Group B with 9 points to the Manchester side’s 8 and PSV’s 7, the German team could equally do with a win to secure safe pass to the final 16. Wolfsburg are wildly inconsistent at the moment; their last 8 games have seen losses to Dortmund, Bayern, Mainz and (in Europe) PSV alongside wins against Werder Bremen (an electrifying 6-0 victory), Leverkusen and (again, in Europe) CSKA Moscow and a draw against Augsburg. Yet despite this our Spreadex traders still fancy a Group-upsetting home win, offering a Wolfsburg/Man United Goal Supremacy spread of 0.15-0.35 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6.

The blue side of Manchester will have a slightly less tense time of it when they host Borussia Monchengladbach at 7.45pm on BT Sport 2. City are already guaranteed a spot in the last 16, their 3 wins and 2 losses (both against a domestically recovering Juventus) enough to currently leave them in 2nd place in Group D. However, if Manuel Pellegrini is to take City past the Champions League last 16 for the first time in the club’s history then they will want to avoid the competition’s top-ranked sides. To do so City need a win and, almost more importantly, a loss for Juve against Sevilla to see them leapfrog the defending Italian champions, who sit on 11 points to City’s 9.



Yet City are in the middle of a wobble similar to the one they suffered back in September. Their heavy 4-1 defeat was followed up by their aforementioned away loss to Juventus, before appearing to get things back on track with a 3-1 win over Southampton and a semi-final securing victory over Hull in the League Cup. Yet this weekend saw City stumble once again, out-classed by an Xherdan Shaqiri led-Stoke, with a Marko Arnautovic brace sinking the Sky Blues. They will also have to deal with the absence of Sergio Aguero, leaving Kevin De Bruyne (on 9 goals and a Super Mega PGM of 24-29), Raheem Sterling (at 11/2 to score first) and a something-to-prove Wilfried Bony (at a Super Mega PGM of 42-49) to take the charge.

Their opponents, Borussia Monchengladbach, may have no chance of a spot in the last 16, but will be fighting to keep their place in the Europa League, a win needed to definitely keep Sevilla at bay. Worryingly for City the German side are in fine form, their most recent game seeing them serve Bayern Munich their first Bundesliga defeat of the season to jump to 3rd. Yet nevertheless when City are good they are fantastic, our Spreadex traders offering a Man City/Monchengladbach Goal Supremacy spread of 0.95-1.15 alongside a Total Goals spread of 3.2-3.4.