- Manchester City have won each of their last nine home games 
- The Citizens have scored three or more goals in seven of their last nine home games 
- Recommended bet: Manchester City to win & over 2.5 goals

The Champions League is a trophy that still evades Manchester City but the Citizens are edging ever closer and could show why they are favourites to end the curse this season in their quarter-final first leg with German giants Bayern Munich.

Pep Guardiola’s men were beaten 1-0 by Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final and the German tactician, now in charge of Bayern, will be hoping to pile more misery on the Citizens in Europe.

But City are in such a rich vein of form, having won eight straight matches, that they are difficult to oppose, especially at their Etihad fortress.

Team news

Phil Foden remains the only absentee for City as he is still recovering from appendix surgery, so expect the in-form Jack Grealish to keep his place in the starting line-up following goals in back-to-back games against Liverpool and Southampton.

Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo is eligible to play against his parent club but had to settle for a bench role in Bayern's recent clash against Borussia Dortmund as well as the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain and may not start.

Striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has been ruled out with a knee issue and he joins long-term injury victims, defender Lucas Hernandez and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, on the sidelines.

The stats

With silverware up for grabs in the Premier League and the Champions League also reaching the business end, Manchester City are hitting top stride at the perfect time and have won eight straight matches.

Guardiola’s men have been even more formidable at home, where they have won nine in a row, claiming some notable scalps along the way.

The Citizens have defeated Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Newcastle and Liverpool during that dominance, putting four goals past each of Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool.

City have also triumphed in nine of their last 10 Champions League ties at home, with their latest success being a 7-0 rout of Bayern’s Bundesliga rival Leipzig in this season’s round of 16.

Goalscoring sensation Erling Haaland hit five on that demolition of the German side and the former Borussia Dortmund man has five goals in his seven previous meetings with Bayern. 

There have been at least three goals scored in eight of City’s last 10 Champions League home assignments and a similar scenario seems likely against a gung-ho Bayern outfit.

It is still early days in the tenure of Tuchel at Bayern, who have kept only one clean sheet in their last five matches, three of which have been played since Julian Nagelsmann departed.

Prediction

Home advantage is likely to prove crucial in the first leg of this Champions League quarter-final with City set to seize the initiative.

City’s attacking talents are operating at the peak of their powers with Haaland scoring freely and being perfectly complimented by the performances of Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan.

Bayern have plenty of firepower of their own, so goals at both ends looks plausible given six of Manchester City's last 10 Champions League home games have seen City victorious with both teams scoring.

But City have won nine of those Champions League home matches, scoring 34 goals, and are also capable of running riot, highlighted by their 7-0 thrashing of Leipzig in the previous round. 

Guardiola’s men could not be in any better form, having been successful in their last eight fixtures in all competitions, and they could win a Champions League thriller.

Back Manchester City to win & over 2.5 goals at 29/20 with LiveScore Bet.

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