Club Friendly Best Bets - August 9

Manchester City are looking to turn one friendly win into two after their 3-1 win over K-League Stars. Their triumph allowed them to bounce back from a loss on penalties to Inter Milan, with their 1-1 draw seeing the English side fail to win in Enzo Maresca's first game as manager. A lack of game time heading towards the season may hurt City, although, like their next opponents, they have only played twice so far. Against Atletico Madrid, City have won once, drawn once and lost once. Friendlies can be tricky as managers look to rotate their squad, play peripheral players and test out new tactics. However, following a solid win in their last game, I back City to secure a morale-boosting win over Atleti this week. 

Liverpool began pre-season with a pair of wins over Sunderland (4-2) and Wrexham (1-0) before they were stunned by Leeds (2-4) in their last outing. In that game, Liverpool saw their 2-0 lead count for nothing as Leeds roared back with four unanswered goals in the second-half. Their inability to make a two-goal lead count will be a major worry, especially if this defensive frailty follows them into the new season. Their clash with Monaco, which will be the first time they have played them since one win and one defeat in the Champions League in 2024, is a big chance to showcase their attacking threat. Monaco have been poor in pre-season, and I back the English side to take advantage of this with a win.