Manchester City v Atalanta: free football tips, best bets and predictions

Football tips, best bets and predictions for Manchester City v Atalanta in Champions League Group C.

Where to watch

BT Sport 2, 8pm Tuesday

Best bet

Luis Muriel to score
1pt 7-2 Betfair, Paddy Power
Back this tip with Paddy Power

Team news

Man City
Kyle Walker and Nicolas Otamendi have returned to training. Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane are long-term absentees.

Atalanta
Top scorer Duvan Zapata and centre-backs Simon Kjaer and Jose Palomino are all out injured.

Match preview

The biggest certainty of this week obliged during Manchester City's pre-match press conference when Pep Guardiola praised Gian Piero Gasperini for his work at Atalanta.

"It's a great joy to watch Gasperini's team play," gushed Guardiola. "They're brave, they respect their supporters and that's the way they play. They take quite a few risks and I'm sure they'll play that way again."

Guardiola is forever giving plaudits to managers who attack City - normally because it means the Premier League champions can fight fire with fire and come out on top.

It was never in doubt that Guardiola would enjoy watching Atalanta play and it's almost as certain, according to bookmakers at least, that goals will be plentiful in the Champions League clash between the sides in Manchester.

That assessment is difficult to quibble with, as are the match odds with City short-priced favourites to deliver a third straight win in this season's Champions League and condemn Atalanta to a hat-trick of losses in their first foray into Europe's elite competition.

Atalanta have been naive in losing 4-0 away to Dinamo Zagreb and then 2-1 to Shakhtar in their temporary European base at San Siro, plus they have defensive injury concerns which will be music to the ears of whoever Guardiola selects in City's prolific front three.

However, Atalanta are not going to die wondering and their determination to attack - Gasperini's side are Serie A's top scorers with 21 goals in eight matches - could bring its rewards.

Atalanta have scored at least twice in all of their league encounters, including three at Lazio on Saturday when they raced into a 3-0 advantage before half-time.

They still held that lead until the 69th minute, playing some scintillating stuff along the way, but they were pegged back by an added-time penalty.

Luis Muriel scored twice in Rome, taking his Serie A tally to five goals in just 247 minutes, and in the absence of leading hitman Duvan Zupata his fellow Colombian can finish off the excellent approach play of Papu Gomez and Josip Ilicic.

Muriel is a lively counter-attacking forward who could be suited to taking advantage of any issues in the City defence.

Ederson was made to work with two fine saves in City's 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday, when Guardiola used midfielders Fernandinho and Rodri together as a makeshift defensive pairing.

They play out from the back nicely but are not naturals in the position, while Nicolas Otamendi often has issues against pace and John Stones has rarely been fit enough to assess.

Key stat

Man City have scored 19 goals in their last six Champions League matches.

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport