Red Star Belgrade vs Manchester City betting tips & odds
THERE’S nothing at stake in Wednesday’s Champions League game so it could pay to think outside the box in terms of betting opportunities.
- No card at 12/1 -12/1 with Spreadex
- Foden as anytime scorer - 5/2 with bet365
- Bobb to assist at any time -12/5 with BetUK
Here are the latest match odds for Red Star Belgrade vs Manchester City from our top-rated football bookies. Odds are subject to change.
‘Dead’ matches aren’t the easiest for punters to get a grip on but, in some ways, they offer potential value.
The fact is that ahead of Wednesday’s early kick-off, Manchester City have already won the group and will therefore be seeded for Monday’s last-16 draw.
As for Red Star, they will finish bottom of the group regardless of the result here, so there will be no European football for them after Christmas.
Essentially that means both teams will be more concerned with key weekend domestic league matches than this game – expect team changes.
At the same time, it’s worth remembering City’s form hasn’t been the best of late – they edged to a 2-1 victory at Luton on Sunday to end a four-match winless run – so Pep Guardiola may want his side to put a confidence-boosting win on their record ahead of what promises to be a hectic few weeks. There’s a trip to the Club World Cup looming and a tricky festive fixture list at home.
They should be able to win comfortably if they do put out a fairly strong XI – City dominated the reverse fixture and despite falling behind, eventually eased to a 3-1 win during which they had 37 shots on goal.
Second-guessing the team news is never easy but that looks the route to getting a decent price on your coupon. Make sure you know the rules of your bookmaker – some will void bets if a player doesn’t start.
Any way, below we’ve picked out a couple of player bets – one a regular and the other a fringe player who may well start in Belgrade.
There’s also a tasty-looking 12/1 shot for you.
- Manchester City will become only the second English side (after Liverpool in 2021/22) to win six Champions League group games in the same season, if they are victorious on Wednesday.
- City are joint top-scorers in the Champions League group stage. Arsenal and Atletico Madrid have also scored 15 goals across their opening five matches.
- Red Star sit top of the Serbian league but have taken just one point from five games in this competition. They have conceded 12 goals – only three sides have let in more.
- City will again be without the injured Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku for their trip east.
- City out-shot Red Star 37-3 when the sides met on matchday one. The English club won 3-1 that night, Julian Alvarez scoring twice.
Find our best bets for the Red Star vs Man City game below. Odds for the bets are provided by the best sportsbooks per our expert reviews. Odds in the bettings tips are subject to change.
This ‘dead’ game looks one where backing a short price looks full of problems so let’s try a long shot.
With nothing at stake, it’s not hard to see everyone going through the motions and if that’s the case it could be an easy night for referee Aliyar Aghayev.
City’s players certainly won’t want cards on their record heading into the knockout stage (there’s no amnesty after the group stage), while Red Star may well sit off and ask City to break them down rather than engage.
Worth a try to small stakes.
Foden has netted in his last three Champions League games and with Julian Alvarez potentially facing a heavy workload in the coming weeks following Erling Haaland’s injury, there looks a decent chance he could be employed as a ‘false nine’ here.
The England international has eight goals in his last 17 appearances for club and country so an offer of 5/2 about him netting against one of this competition’s weakest defences looks decent.
Of course, he could be one to get the night off here – or be on the bench – so make use of bet365’s offer to void the bet if he doesn’t start.
The Norwegian has had quite a few run-outs off the bench this season and this looks the perfect opportunity for Guardiola to start him.
Bobb, who usually plays in a wide role, made 16 assists in 25 games in ‘Premier League 2’ last season, while this term he’s assisted in all three of his international appearances, two of which were at under-21 level.
As long as City put a half-decent team out, they should score at least a couple of goals here, so 12/5 about a Bobb assist looks worth an interest – as long as he starts.
- Location: Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia
- Time: 17:45 GMT on Wednesday, December 13
- Where to watch: TNT Sports 2
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