Man City v CSKA: Back over 1.5 first half-goals at the Etihad

CSKA Moscow are certain to offer more resistance than Norwich did at the Etihad last time out, but in such confident mood Manchester City’s superstars can put the game beyond the Russians in the first half.

Norwich may have gone over like dominoes during an opening 45 minutes which saw them concede four times, though the Canaries were not the first team to be swept aside by a first-half storm from the hosts at the Etihad this season.

Newcastle, Manchester United and Everton have all conceded twice before the half-time whistle and as was the case in the return fixture in Moscow, backing over 1.5 goals to be registered before the break at 11/10 is a decent price.

Exploring this thread further, there is potential profit to be uncovered by backing the 37/20 on Manuel Pellegrini’s side scoring more of their goals in the first half, while the 1/3 for City to be the first team to get to two goals also appeals.

Dividends may also be gained from guessing the time brackets of the first City goal as four of their seven matches at home in all competitions have seen the Citizens score in the first 20 minutes – with three of those arriving on either the 16th or 17th minutes.

So, taking Ladbrokes up on the 2/1 for City to score before the 15-minute mark, or perhaps more preferably backing the 17/10 on a goal being scored between the 15th and 30th minutes, seem sensible options.

With 11 goals in 12 appearances already this season, City’s match-winner from Moscow, Sergio Aguero, looks brilliant value at 3/1 to land the first blow, while 2/1 on Yaya Toure scoring in the 90 is a plump-ish price also.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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