An opening day loss puts the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s team. The manager wasn’t on the sidelines when his team suffered a shocking defeat to Lyon at the Etihad Stadium. Now, The Citizens have some ground to make up, starting with their first ever visit to Hoffenheim.
Bet on Hoffenhiem vs Manchester City with Bet365
Start time: Tuesday, October 2, 2018 at 18:55 CET
Venue: Rhein-Neckar Arena, Sinsheim
Hoffenheim vs Manchester City Preview
The Germans are not doing well in the league at the moment, losing their last contest at home to RB Leipzig. Overall, they’ve won only two out of six fixtures and have conceded in every single one of them. Welcoming Manchester City, who are essentially in a must-win situation considering their CL aspirations, will be tough.
“In the Champions League we don’t have time to lose a lot of games and we lost the first one,”
“We have five finals and tomorrow is the first one.” – Pep Guardiola
Following the Lyon defeat, Manchester City won the next three games with a 10:0 goal difference. Guardiola met Hoffenheim six times as the manager of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. He won five out of those six matches and his team scored two or more goals on each occasion. Julian Nagelsmann, the greatest young mind in European football, will have to use his wisdom to devise an antidote for City’s offensive weapons. Otherwise, it’ll be a long night for the Champions League debutants.
Hoffenheim vs Manchester City Bet365 Odds
All eight of Hoffenheim’s games in all competitions have seen both teams score.
Both teams to score 1.57 (4/7)
Player to watch: Leroy Sane
Sane’s frustrations over his World Cup exclusion transferred onto his club, where Guardiola didn’t give him many opportunities to start the season. However, he was part of the starting lineup in City’s last two PL games and is likely to feature on Tuesday. He has a lot to prove in Germany, so look for him to demand the ball and be active early and often.
Hoffenheim vs Manchester City Injury Update
Hoffenheim have several players with a questionable designation heading into tonight’s contest, most notably defender Ermin Bicakcic and midfielders Havard Nordtveit and Kevin Vogt. Guardiola will have to improvise at left back, much like he did last season. Benjamin Mendy is set to miss out, as is his replacement Fabian Delph. Expect Oleksandr Zinchenko to start at the position. Sergio Aguero is still dealing with a nagging foot problem, but should be in the starting lineup nonetheless.