Slovan Bratislava picked up three cards in the first 30 mins away to Celtic in matchday one. We can expect the same sort of commitment here at home to Man City. The fans will get behind the team and the atmosphere could be quite intense.

In terms of quality and class, City are on a different level but Slovan can try and make a game of it by getting stuck in and turn the game into a stop-start affair whenever possible. If they can stay close for longer than expected then even time wasting cards might come into play.

The over 2.5 card line looks generous at 1.44 and Slovan could cover this all on their own. There’s an expectation that City should play a clean game. But they could get sloppy and if Slovan start to wind them up then the visitors might chip in with a silly card or two.

Both Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne are doubtful for this match which will increase the output needed from some other attackers on show. Jeremy Doku is a prime candidate for this and he could be set for a big game.

He’s well known for his cutting inside move and could feel the need to fire in more attempts. He’s a frustrating player but this is the sort of match in which he should get the start. Last week he scored against Watford In the EFL Cup so his confidence might be improved. Rather than needing him to score, a wiser play might be just requiring a shot on target from the former Rennes man. In a match which City should dominate, this doesn’t feel like such a big ask from him.

There is an interesting storyline here that Slovakian international Vladimir Weiss gets to play against the club where he was at for 6 years. He had several loan spells before eventually being sold to Pescara in 2012, but never played a Premier League game for City. He could play anywhere on the field in this game, but most likely at left wing where he might face Rico Lewis who is a foul magnet (2.28 drawn per 90 mins).

Weiss committed two fouls against Celtic in matchday one and might be extra eager against his former club. He’s an experienced veteran now at 34 years old so will know all the tricks in the book and won’t be shy about committing some cheap fouls if needed.

He looks a big price at 1.33 just to commit a single foul or more and this is an ideal addition to any Slovan Bratislava vs Man City bet builder.

Lewis is a versatile player who can play in pretty much any defensive position and he has started to seriously attract fouls. Lewis has been fouled 2.28 times per 90 mins so far this season so knows how to win free kicks.

He has the athleticism, technicals and acceleration burst to cause opponents problems, mistiming challengers or holding him back. He is facing an opponent who will likely make several fouls, especially in his area of the field which is safer and less dangerous giving away set pieces. Taking Leewis just to be fouled once or more looks a nice piece to add to your bet builder

Man City are going to dominate the ball here and might have as much as 70% possession. Josko Gvardiol is listed to play left back, but at times he will operate as a left winger and venture forward a lot. It’s a surprise he is such a big price just to be fouled at least once here because he could become a potential foul magnet.

Gvardiol has drawn 1.20 fouls per 90 mins in the Premier League this season. Across the previous campaign that figure was at 0.88 but his role has now changed to be more offensive. Gvardiol is not your standard typical left back but far more technical and is likely to cause Slovan plenty of problems with his movement.

There’s a good chance that Marko Tolic will end up in defensive midfield for Slovan, in which case he could be in for a tough evening. He will be expected to shield the defence but also make some more aggressive moves compared to the centre backs. Tolic averages 2.07 fouls per 90 mins in the Champions League this season (including qualifying) and racked up a brace of fouls at Celtic Park in the opening League fixture.

He looks overpriced at 2.10 to commit at least two more fouls again. Tolic is going to see so much of the action it will be extremely difficult for him to play a clean game facing the technical qualities of Man City.

This looks like a good situational spot  to back Ilkay Gundogan to have at least one shot on target. With injuries to Haaland, Rodri and De Bruyne he might be tasked with stepping up in front of goal and being more offensive minded.

Last year at Barcelona he averaged 0.53 shots on target per 90 mins and in his last full season for Man City in the 2022/23 campaign that figure was 0.76. City might need him to strike and the price on Gundogan just to have at least one shot on target looks big considering the circumstances.

He should play in a more advanced playmaker or even shadow striker role which likely improves his chances.

It’s going to be a difficult night for Slovan Bratislava. They are likely to come under a lot of fire and Man City should logically rack up quite a lot of shots on target. It’s the sort of night where Slovan needs a hero in goal to maybe keep things competitive.

Taking their goalkeeper to make six or more saves seems very possible. Man City average seven SOT per game in the Premier League and could reach double figures here. Not all of them will go into the net so the goalkeeper saves angle feels a decent alternative to the shots on target market.