FC Copenhagen and Manchester City lock horns in this UEFA Champions League Playoffs first leg clash at Parken Stadium early Wednesday morning Beijing time. This is the best of UEFA's club competitions. However, I do not expect this match to by of very high standards by this league's standards. It is expected to be a one-sided affair. Indeed, Manchester City are clearly the best team in the World and are also the reigning champions of Europe – and England. FC Copenhagen, on the other hand, are one of the smallest teams in the UEFA champions League in terms of players' total market value according to a German website Transfermarkt.com. The gigantic difference in class should become very clear in this match. I would not be surprised if the final score will be 0-4 or 1-5. Copengagen did play better than expected in the group stage but Manchester United were abysmal then and Galatasaray were, in fact, better than Copengahen in terms of expected points (xPTS)
Copenhagen are the reigning Champions of Denmark but have not played very well in the Superliga this season. Indeed, in fact they are only in third place at the moment, behind Midtjylland and Bröndby. The league is on a winter break and Copenhagen have not played a competitive game for a long time. This hurts their chances a lot here. City with elite players like de Bryune, Rodri etc will have too much skill for the hosts to handle. I usually do not bet on big favourites away from home but will make an exception here. We will take the -1.5 goals handicap with a 64% chance of winning. City will be motivated to score more goals even if they manage to take the lead. They have been on fire in the Premier League lately – after a difficult period late last year. They have no weaknesses in their game.