Guardiola, Man City reeling after Champions League loss to Juventus

Manchester City have now won just one of their last 10 games after suffering a 2-0 loss to Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Sky Blues dominated possession, with 69% of the ball and 698 passes, but only managed to take three shots on target.

Juventus took five shots on target. Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic and American midfielder Weston McKennie scored for the Old Lady, taking them up to 14th in the Champions League table. Man City are in 22nd, just one point away from being eliminated from the competition.

Gundogan criticises City’s tactics and effort

After the match, veteran midfielder Ilkay Gundogan was asked to explain what went wrong for his team and why they are in such a poor run of form.

The 34 year old said his side have not been clinical enough in attack and are conceding too many high-quality chances.

“It’s very disappointing. We had chances to score a few goals but at the moment it feels like every attack we concede is just so dangerous,” he said.

Gundogan also criticised Man City’s effort in defence, saying “I have a feeling sometimes we are a bit careless with duels."

The midfielder’s most biting criticism was directed at Man City’s tactics. Some are even accusing Gundogan of hitting out at his manager, Pep Guardiola.

“Instead of playing simple we overcomplicate things and we missed the right timing to release the ball,” he said.

“Just lose the ball and give them counter attacks. We are built for possession, keep the ball, be strong, if you can’t do anything don't lose it.

“At the moment it’s not working out for us.”

Guardiola disagrees with Gundogan

Guardiola was also asked to give verdict after the match. One reporter specifically asked the former Barcelona manager about Gundogan’s comments. He disagreed with them strongly.

“No, no, we have done that today,” Guardiola said, referring to Gundogan’s point about Man City losing the ball easily and giving up cheap counter attacks.

“Other days, no, but today we have done it. We have done it really, really well. We didn't lose many balls. That happened in the past. We tried and arrived in positions.”

Guardiola then said that this match was less about his own team’s problems and more about how good Juventus were on Wednesday.

“We know Italian teams defend so deep and so compact. It is not easy. They are a master of these kind of situations.

“But even with that, we played who we are. The result is not there but the performance is.”

Manchester Derby betting preview

Despite their poor run of form, Man City are big favourites for the Manchester Derby against Manchester United at the Etihad on Sunday (3:30 AM, Monday AEST).

PlayUp gives the Sky Blues $1.55 chances of beating the Red Devils. On the other hand, Man Utd have $4.85 odds to win.

The soccer betting site also predicts this will be a high-scoring game. The over/under line has been set at 3.5 goals, with the under being favoured right now at $1.70 odds. The over is currently going at $2.10

Conclusion

Our EPL predictions go against the betting odds. As City showed against Juventus, their midfield and defence can be had. Man Utd’s Ruben Amorim also has a good record against Guardiola. His Sporting CP side beat Man City last month.