Manchester City look to hit back after Saturday’s embarrassing away Premier League defeat at Norwich, as they begin their Champions League bid away to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Both teams have met at this stage again for the third consecutive season, as Man City look to make that step forward if want to challenge for the title.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesShakhtar Donetsk have a full squad available for selection although Luis Castro could rotate his squad.
Manchester City are without John Stones after the defender suffered a muscle injury in training.
Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane remain absent with knee injuries, whilst Phil Foden is sidelined with a virus but Benjamin Mendy (knee) could feature.
Stat Attack
- Manchester City have won three of four meetings with Shakhtar Donetsk (W3, L1).
- City have just conceded twice against Shakhtar, with both goals coming in a 2-1 home win for the Ukrainian team in December 2017.
- In three of the last five seasons, City have lost their opening group match but progressed on each of those occasions.
Prediction
John Stones is a huge loss for an already fragile Citizens’ defence and based on Saturday’s shambles, I wouldn’t be surprised if Shakhtar fly out of the blocks and take this game by its neck.
City therefore will need to think about their tactics because with barely any fit central defenders, they cannot afford to get dragged into a physical match or they will get brutally punished for any mistakes.
I therefore reckon that we could see a shock result here if Shakhtar are on top form.
Prediction: Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 Manchester City
Result: Shakhtar Donetsk 0-3 Manchester City