Aguero v Messi: Who gets your vote to score first at the Etihad?
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This Tuesday’s Champions League clash between Manchester City and Barcelona is shaping up to be a classic with the first-leg fixture also bringing together two international teams mates with serious points to prove.
For the hosts it’s all about Sergio Aguero, the striker who carried the Sky Blues kicking and screaming to this stage of the competition.
With City requiring three points against Bayern Munich to keep their Champions League dream alive back in November, the 26-year-old duly obliged with a match-winning hat-trick that came in a 3-2 victory over the Bavarians.
That game marked the third time that Aguero has opened the scoring for City in a European Cup encounter this season, which goes some way to explaining Ladbrokes’ latest price boost.
The Argentine has moved from 11/2 to 13/2 to score first and looks good value, having racked up openers in City’s two most recent Premier League fixtures against Stoke and Newcastle respectively.
But then Aguero is not the only South American likely to be in the thick of the action with opposite number Lionel Messi bringing plenty in the way of threat.
Messi has scored 37 goals in 34 games for Barcelona already this term and will be determined to get on the scoresheet after drawing a blank against Malaga at the weekend.
You have to go back to September of last year to find the last time the 27-year-old went two or more games without scoring.
In fact, prior to that result, Messi had not only scored in each of Barca’s previous four fixtures, he’d also netted the opener in crucial wins over Villarreal and Athletic Club.
All of which means the price enhancement offered on a Messi opener may be too much for Ladbrokes customers to ignore.
Messi has moved from a price of 7/2 to 9/2 to score first against City and looks primed to do just that after finding the net in five consecutive appearances in the Champions League this term.
It has all the makings of a titanic tussle between two of Europe’s most prolific goalscorers – but who is your money on?
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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