Manchester City vs Red Star Belgrade prediction, odds and betting tips
Manchester City begin the defence of their Champions League crown with an eminently winnable match at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City vs Red Star Belgrade odds
Here are the latest match odds for Manchester City vs Red Star Belgrade. All odds are provided by our best-reviewed football betting sites.
⚡ Quick Manchester City vs Red Star Belgrade tips
- Manchester City to win both halves - 8/13 with bet365
- Manchester City -3 handicap - 13/10 with bet365
- Jeremy Doku to score any time - 7/5 with bet365
Manchester City vs Red Star Belgrade predictions
Manchester City finally got the European monkey off their back last season.
After some traumatic near-misses in previous years, Pep Guardiola’s side lifted the Champions League trophy with a 1-0 victory over Inter in June.
That success capped off a superb season for City, who also won the Premier League and FA Cup to match Manchester United’s treble from 1998/99.
After scaling such heights last time out, many wondered whether City would lack the hunger to go again in 2023/24.
There have been no signs of that so far. Guardiola’s men are the only team in the Premier League to have won each of their first five matches this season.
Their latest triumph may have looked run of the mill, but a 3-1 victory over an in-form West Ham United at the London Stadium was an excellent result.
City fell behind but they were the better team for virtually the entire contest, despite missing arguably their most important player in Kevin De Bruyne.
The defending champions are the favourites to be crowned kings of the continent this season too, and the group stage draw has done nothing to change that.
RB Leipzig are a decent side but being paired with them, Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys looks like a gentle start for Guardiola and co.
City were sensational in the Champions League last term, scoring an average of 2.46 per game and conceding just 0.38.
This could be a long evening for Red Star, who would probably take a narrow defeat before kick-off.
📝 Manchester City vs Red Star Belgrade betting tips
This is a baptism of fire for Red Star Belgrade in the 2023/24 Champions League, with Manchester City likely to ease to victory in front of their own supporters.
Manchester City to win both halves - 8/13 (bet365)
Manchester City were particularly dominant on home turf last season, both domestically and in Europe.
Across the FA Cup and EFL Cup, they won seven out of seven at the Etihad. No Premier League team could match their tally of 52 points at home, with Brentford the only team to emerge victorious in east Manchester.
In the Champions League they had a 100 percent record across six matches, beating Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid by an astonishing aggregate scoreline of 24-1.
So far this campaign, Newcastle United and Fulham have left the Etihad without anything to show for it.
The above statistics will not give Red Star Belgrade much hope ahead of Tuesday’s clash. A low-scoring game like football produces more surprises than other sports, but it is difficult to see any sort of upset here.
City will be determined to lay down a marker in their first European encounter of 2023/24, just as they have done with their ruthlessly efficient start in the Premier League.
Guardiola’s team will look to begin this match quickly and an early concession would leave Red Star with a mountain to climb.
City should be able to keep a clean sheet here, so for this bet to be successful they would just need to score either side of half-time.
Manchester City -3 handicap - 13/10 (bet365)
Manchester City have become the complete team. Their defensive record has been pretty good throughout Guardiola’s tenure, but that was often because of their ability to dominate possession more than anything else.
City are still masters at controlling the ball but they are now a physically robust side too. Guardiola often lines up with three centre-halves in defence, with the powerful Kyle Walker completing the backline.
Rodri is a magnificent tempo-setting passer at the base of midfield, but he is also adept at breaking up play.
Even more physically slight players like Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden are energetic pressers with an appreciation of the collective.
Allied to that is City’s attacking quality, led by the indomitable Erling Haaland. Even without the injured De Bruyne, they have more than enough quality to get by.
Red Star Belgrade went unbeaten in the Serbian SuperLiga last season, but they lost all three of their away games in the Europa League. A hefty defeat beckons.
Jeremy Doku to score any time - 7/5 (bet365)
Summer signing Jeremy Doku turned in a brilliant performance at the weekend in what was only his second start for Manchester City.
The winger, who was only included in the XI because of an injury to Jack Grealish, scored his first goal for the club in the defeat of West Ham.
Guardiola praised the 21-year-old after the game, while adding: “'When you buy a young player like him for four, five years you have to be patient… we can’t expect too much.”
We will not necessarily see Doku start every single match from here on in, then, but the City boss would find it tough to drop him after his display in east London.
A similar showing here could see Doku make it two goals in two games - or perhaps even more than that.
📺 How to watch Manchester City vs Red Star Belgrade
- Location: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
- Date and time: Tuesday 19 September 2023, 8pm
- How to watch: TNT Sports 1
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