One of the stand out ties of the Europa League last-32 draw is undoubtedly Porto against Manchester City and the pair meet for the first leg on Thursday night. There is little to choose between the two in the match odds at Estadio do Dragao, with Porto priced 17/10, Man City 8/5 and the draw looks a decent bet at a best priced 23/10 with Paddy Power.
City are favourites to make it through to the last-sixteen though, where Sporting Lisbon or Legia Warsaw will in wait, as they are 2/5 on, while Porto are 7/4 to qualify.
Porto are the reigning Europa League champions after they beat Braga 1-0 in the final last year. They are a much changed outfit this season as they have lost several key players and of course their manager Andre Villas-Boas, although this current side look capable of taking a draw this week.
The Portuguese team are unbeaten at home this season and are unbeaten in their last seven European matches on home soil. They may be third in the Portuguese League at the moment but their home record is not to be sniffed at, particularly as they have won six, drawn six and lost only two of fourteen matches at home against English opposition.
Paddy Power are offering to refund all losing first scorer, last scorer, correct score and scorecast single bets on Thursday's match if City are ahead at half-time and fail to win. With that in mind it could be worth a look at Porto's James Rodriguez in the scorer markets as the Colombian midfielder has scored four in three and is 15/2 to score first or 5/2 to score anytime.
Porto should fancy their chances of grabbing a goal against City, who have looked unconvincing despite holding on to top spot in the Premier League. City notched a fortuitous 1-0 win over Aston Villa at the weekend but they again lacked the firepower to break a poor side down.
Edin Dzeko is likely to get another chance up front after scoring three in his last five and he could be worth a look to score first at odds of 6/1 with Paddy Power. Manager Roberto Mancini will welcome Yaya Toure and Kolo Toure back from African Nations duty and their return will be a huge boost.
Mancini is likely to pick a strong side as his team are not in FA Cup action at the weekend, although they will need to improve on a run of five wins in their last eleven matches. They have been ahead at half-time only once in their last five outings and the double result of a half-time and full-time draw looks decent value at 7/2.
Meanwhile, five of City's last six away games have involved under 2.5 goals and the under market is 4/5 this week. City's away form in Europe hasn't been great as they have only won one of their last seven away from home.
Mancini is likely to take a safety first, Italian style view of this first leg which makes the score draw very tempting at 7/2 with PaddyPower, while the correct score of 1-1 can be backed at 5/1.
Porto v Man City Form
Check the season's statistics for both Porto and Man City, plus the odds ahead of Thursday's match.
Porto v Man City Tips
Tip #1: Draw @ 23/10 with PaddyPower.
Tip #2: James Rodriguez to score anytime @ 5/2 with PaddyPower.
Tip #3: Edin Dzeko to score first @ 6/1 with PaddyPower.
Match Betting
17/10 Porto
23/10 Draw
8/5 Man City
To Qualify Odds
7/4 Porto
2/5 Man City
Correct Score Odds
15/2 Porto 1-0
12/1 Porto 2-0
17/2 Porto 2-1
17/2 Draw 0-0
5/1 Draw 1-1
11/1 Draw 2-2
15/2 Man City 1-0
12/1 Man City 2-0
17/2 Man City 2-1
First Goalscorer Odds
5/1 Sergio Aguero
11/2 Mario Balotelli
6/1 Edin Dzeko
6/1 Hulk
7/1 Kleber
15/2 David Silva
15/2 James Rodriguez
8/1 No Goalscorer
9/1 Samir Nasri
9/1 Cristian Rodriguez
10/1 Silvestre Varela
Odds supplied by PaddyPower.com, who will refund all losing first/last scorer, correct score and scorecast single bets on the match if Man City are ahead at half-time and fail to win.
Posted: Wednesday, 15th February 2012
Author: Chris James
Tags: europa league, porto, man city, edin dzeko, paddypower,
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