Manchester City of the English Premier League will be visiting Germany on Wednesday, July 20th to take on Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. This game represents Pep Guardiola’s first game in charge of Manchester City and he’s immediately returning to Munich to face his former club. Guardiola of Spain spent the last three seasons as manager of Bayern Munich and won the Bundesliga crown each of the three years.
Bayern Munich vs Manchester City – bet365 Soccer Betting Line:
- bet365 currently lists Bayern Munich as the favorite to win at 8/11 with Manchester City 10/3 and a draw at 5/2
Bayern Munich vs Manchester City – Head to Head:
Bayern Munich and Manchester City have met just six times in the past in competitive matches with each club winning three and losing three. They last met in November of 2014 in a European Champions League contest with Man City winning 3-2 at home. They also met two months earlier in the same competition with Bayern winning their home leg 1-0. The teams have alternated wins and losses since Bayern won the first meeting 2-0 in September of 2011. All six of their meetings have come in the Champions League with Bayern outscoring Man City 10-9 in those encounters.
Bayern Munich – A Closer Look:
This is the second preseason outing for Bayern Munich after beating SV Lippstadt 4-3 in their first game. Once again Dutch international winger Arjen Robben has shown how injury prone he is as he was hurt during the match against Lippstadt and will be out of action for the next six weeks. New manager Carlo Ancelotti of Italy has added some new players to his championship squad as German international Mats Hummels and 18-year-old Portuguese international sensation Renato Sanches have been acquired. Bayern won the Bundesliga title last year with a record of 28 wins, four draws and two losses for 88 points. They finished 10 points ahead of runners up Borussia Dortmund. Bayern scored 80 goals allowed and 17 against.
Manchester City – A Closer Look:
Man City will be playing four pre-season games which are against Bayern Munich and Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund as well as fellow Premier League sides Manchester United and Arsenal. The games against Man United and Borussia Dortmund will be in the International Champions Cup tournament which is being held in China. They open their season on August 13th against Sunderland. Guardiola will be missing several key players for this contest as Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Bacary Sagna and Kevin De Bruyne are still missing from camp following the recent Euro 2016 event in France. However, the club has acquired German international midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and Spanish international midfielder Nolito during the offseason. Man City placed fourth in the Premier League last season with 66 points from 19 victories, nine draws and 10 defeats. They scored 71 goals and allowed 41 against. Man City finished 15 points behind league champions Leicester City.
Bayern Munich vs Manchester City – Takeaway:
Man City Pep Guardiola should receive a hero’s welcome at his old stomping ground the Allianz Arena. There will be pressure on him to prove his style of soccer can succeed in England. He definitely doesn’t want to lose this game.
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by Ian S. Palmer