A simply massive night at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday when Manchester City host Tottenham in the Champions League. The prize for the club getting through is a place in the semi finals of the competition, joining Barcelona, Ajax and then probably Liverpool, who hold an advantage for their trip to Porto which is also on Wednesday.

Whoever progresses from this tie will see this as a golden opportunity, and certainly their best to win the Champions League for some years. While Tottenham are not seen as genuine Champions League contenders, and a win would be a surprise for them, Manchester City certainly are, and they are inching closer to a Champions League victory that has been years in the making.

City have dominated the domestic scene in England for some time now, but success in the Champions League has eluded them, and they have not exactly performed as they should have done in the tournament. They were fancied to go close right at the very start of this season, and have put themselves in a challenging position here. Although they face a 1-0 deficit from the first leg, they are still favourites to qualify and reach the semi finals.

Can Tottenham Score Without Harry Kane?

Harry Kane went off injured in the first leg between these two, and that has seen him be ruled out of the rest of the season due to ligament damage. He is obviously a huge part of this Tottenham team, but just like when he was ruled out for a number of games not too long ago, questions have raised again about the ability his team has to score goals without him in the line up.

Can Tottenham score without Harry Kane? It may not be a case of answering with a yes or no really, but simply they have to if they want to succeed. They have already hit their target for the Champions League, and while losing here would be disappointing, it is what was expected of them this season. However, it is in the league where the loss of Kane could hit them hard. We are heading into the final few games right now, and Spurs are involved in a big battle for the top four. Finishing in those places was the expectation for Spurs to start the season, but there is a chance they will end up on the outside, if they struggle with Kane out of the side.

Any team would miss a player of Kane’s calibre, but Tottenham especially do as he is one of their big goal threats. If you take Son away from the team too, then they don’t really have anyone who can be relied upon to put the ball in the back of the net on anything other than the odd occasion.

Spurs were in a fight before the news about Kane’s injury came out, and now they are in an even bigger one. That is on the horizon though, there are more important things to worry about in the immediate future in the shape of this game, and getting through to the Champions League semi finals.

Manchester City vs Tottenham Champions League Betting Tips

A massive night for both English clubs at the Etihad. We currently have no English representation officially through to the semi finals of the Champions League but after this game one club will go through, and it is almost certain they will be joined by Liverpool in the final four.

Back to this game, and it is Manchester City who I think will come out on top. They were not at their best against Tottenham last week, but with a real purpose and the knowledge of what they need to do to win, I fancy them to take their game to another level. I think City were a little confused last week, they didn’t want to give anything away but at the same time they wanted to play their natural attacking game. That caused a few problems for them, but there will be none of that tonight.

Tottenham are going to go up to Manchester and try to defend their one goal lead, but I see City scoring more than once here, and that means Tottenham will have to score at least once themselves. That brings us back to the Harry Kane injury and just what a blow it is for Spurs, both in terms of this game and in their league campaign.

I don’t see Tottenham going to City and scoring in open play, their best chance may be a set piece goal, which they have scored a few of this season. However, I don’t think that will happen here, I think City can keep them at bay, as well as win this game.

To add value to the bet, instead of just backing City for the win, I am backing City to win to nil here, which means they win the game and keep a clean sheet. Both look likely to happen based on the problems Tottenham have with goal scoring and the likelihood of City winning the game.

That is the pick here in this all-English Champions League tie, I fancy City to pile on the pressure, and eventually come out on top.

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