There is no guarantee that even though Copenhagen plays the first leg at home, they will be able to win against Manchester City and on the contrary, Copenhagen will try their best not to concede many goals. They need to do that if they want to achieve a miracle in the second leg which will be held at Manchester City's home ground later and even though we already know who will advance to the quarter-finals, of course surprises are still a mystery and we definitely want that too.
What would happen if the match between two teams of different levels had to be resolved through extra time or a penalty shootout, wouldn't that be an added value to the competition and here everyone would definitely be even more tense seeing the extraordinary performance of the two teams. Manchester city is sure to win but I expected something more from Copenhagen.
Despite the huge difference in the class of teams, the quotes for the first game are quite interesting:
9,80 - 5,00 -
1,32I see a clear hint here that the bookmakers are not sure that City will try to win this game or try at all. If this was a "necessary" game for City they would be listed as 1.05-1.1.
There is a great temptation to bet on Copenhagen or Copenhagen double chance (the odds compensate for the risk), but it seems to me more profitable to wait for the result of the first game and if it is successful (Copenhagen win or draw) then bet on City in the second game.
I don't think that there has ever been a game in the knockout rounds of the Champions League where the bookies gave odds to the team playing away from home lower than 1.1. Everyone who saw how Copenhagen played against Bayern Munich at home, knows that this isn't going to be 0-5 for Manchester City without any effort. The 1.32 rather reflects the possibility that this game has a chance to end in a draw. I don't believe Manchester City will be beaten, but a draw can always happen. I guess that is what the bookies take into account here and the performances from the group stage.