Manchester City and AS Monaco played in the highest scoring first leg in the history of the Champions League just a couple weeks ago. Could we be in for more fireworks when the two play the return leg at the Stade Louis II? It's one of the more intriguing matches for sure in this last week of Round of 16 action in the UCL and shouldn't end up disappointing the neutral spectators.
Don't miss the Champions League action from Stade Louis II at 3:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. Catch every moment of the match live on FOX Sports 1.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
AS Monaco +160
Manchester City +154
Draw +280
Over/Under 3.5
Odds Analysis
Monaco needs to go for it for sure. Yes, the Red and Whites picked up three away goals, but after conceding five times, they're going to need to score twice just to have a shot at advancing – and that's if they can keep Man City off the scoreboard. Good luck with that after that first leg.
Manchester City was always a favored side to advance, and it shouldn't be surprising that we're dealing with a fixture that is essentially a pick 'em at this point on French soil. That'll suit Pep Guardiola just fine, as the high-priced draw of +280 or an away win at +154 would finish the job. It should be noted that Monaco is the ever slight dog at +160, though that could surely flip between now and the time the match kicks off.
The First Leg
It was a wild night at the Etihad a couple weeks back. Ups and downs for both sides were rampant, but in the end, it was the home standing Citizens faithful who had the last cheers when the match was said and done with.
Right from the opening kick of the ball, you just knew that this was going to be a special night in Manchester. There was a slew of buzzing around the ground, and both teams looked for that crucial first blood early. Raheem Sterling got it for the hosts, but Radamel Falcao, who was clearly the best player on the pitch on either side, got the goal back just a few minutes later for Monaco. The French side went up 2-1 when Kylian Mbappe struck in the 40th, and the sides went into the interval with a sense of doom lurking around City.
Sergio Aguero had his line in the play early in the second half to knot the game at two goals apiece, but just three minutes later, it was Falcao again who restored the Monaco lead. Perhaps at that point, the French side became a little bit complacent – it's not like we haven't seen anything like that out of a team from France in the dying 20 minutes of a match in the UCL lately or anything…
Within 11 minutes, Man City went from down one to winning by two, getting goals from Aguero, John Stones and Leroy Sane. It was a deserving finish with the flurry that the Citizens put on, and they very well could have had more at the end. They might regret not getting one more, too.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Even though these two teams shared eight goals at the Etihad and there's common logic for this being a high-scoring affair as well, that total of 3.5 just screams to us to be too high. Monaco is a bright team by nature, especially when Falcao is at his best as he was a fortnight ago, but Manchester City knows that it doesn't have to do anything spectacular.
Tiki-taka, they say in Spain, and that's what Guardiola is probably going to try to do. If the Citizens can stay on the ball in this one, they should at least be able to melt this clock down to the point of no return for the Red and Whites. We'll take our chances that there aren't a total of 12 goals to be scored over these 180 minutes in totality.
Champions League Odds: AS Monaco 1, Manchester City 1
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