It’s Matchday 5 in the UEFA Champions League, and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City travel to Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday night looking to seal their place in the knockout stages of the premier European competition.
The group stage is nearing its climax as we enter the penultimate matchday in the UEFA Champions League, ahead of the Group C match between Borussia Monchengladbach and Manchester City. A win for the Citizens will seal their place in the Round of 16, whereas a loss will keep things in the balance heading into the final day of the group stages.
The reverse clash of this tie ended in a dominating 4-0 win for Pep Guardiola’s side on the opening day of the competition. Star striker Sergio Aguero, who was on a terrific run of form at the start of the season, scored a hat trick before substitute Kelechi Iheanacho rounded things off in injury time to complete a resounding result for Manchester City.
Team News and Tactics
Borussia Monchengladbach
Borussia Monchengladbach have endured an extremely tough start to their domestic campaign. With just three wins from their opening 11 games, Andre Schubert’s men are already nine points adrift of the Champions League qualification places. Monchengladbach come into this match on the back of an abysmal run that has seen them win just once in their last six games.
Heading into the match against Manchester City, though, things don’t get easy for Borussia Monchengladbach, as Andre Schubert will be without eight of his players on Wednesday. Defender Julian Korb and Christoph Kramer are missing through suspension, and will be back for the final group stage clash against Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Mamadou Doucoure (fitness), Alvaro Dominguez (back), Marvin Schulz (groin), Moritz Nicolas (thumb), Patrick Herrmann (syndesmotic ligament tear) and Josip Drmic (fitness) are all sidelined through injury.
Monchengladbach boss Schubert is expected to send out a 3-5-2 formation, with Nico Elvedi, Andreas Christensen and Jannik Vestergaard manning the defence, charged with the daunting task of keeping Sergio Aguero silent. Meanwhile, in Kramer’s absence, young starlet Mahmoud Dahoud will face the formidable challenge of dealing with City stalwarts like Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.
Up front, Ibrahima Traore and Oscar Wendt will flank Lars Stindl as the wingbacks, and will be responsible for charging up and down the flanks to keep the Monchengladbach attack ticking. Star men Raffael and Thorgan Hazard will be the two men spearheading the home side’s attack against Manchester City.
Probable Starting XI (3-5-2): Sommer; Elvedi, Christensen, Vestergaard; Traoré, Dahoud, Strobl, Stindl, Wendt; Hazard, Raffael
Manchester City
Unlike their hosts on Wednesday, Manchester City have put a blip in form behind them and have won four games in a row, making the six game winless run seem like a distant memory. They are currently third in the Premier League table, level on points with Liverpool and a point behind leaders Chelsea.
On the team news front too, City are experiencing much better fortunes compared to their hosts, as they travel to Borussia-Park with a near-complete squad at Pep Guardiola’s disposal. Fabian Delph is the only long term absentee with a muscle injury.
Captain Vincent Kompany is doubtful with a knee injury, after a heavy clash with Claudio Bravo in City’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace last week. Meanwhile, Saturday’s two goal hero Yaya Toure won’t take part against Monchengladbach either as he is not part of the Champions League squad for Manchester City.
City boss Guardiola should continue with the highly successful 4-1-4-1 formation on Wednesday, with custodian Bravo making a return to the starting lineup after serving a suspension ban against Barcelona. In the back four, John Stones should return to the starting lineup to partner Nicolas Otamendi, after missing the win over Palace due to lack of match fitness. The centre half duo should be flanked by Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy on either side.
In midfield, Fernandinho will man the defensive midfield slot, sitting in front of the back four to provide an added level of solidity to the Manchester City defence. Ilkay Gundogan is expected to replace Yaya Toure, after missing Saturday’s match due to fatigue. David Silva is likely to be restored to the starting lineup too, with Nolito missing out in his stead.
Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling should line up on the flanks for the Citizens. Up front, Sergio Aguero will look to torment the Monchengladbach defence once again, and get his side into the knockouts.
Probable Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Bravo; Sagna, Stones, Otamendi, Clichy, Kolarov; Fernandinho; De Bruyne, Gündoğan, Silva, Sterling; Agüero
Key Stats
- The two sides are facing each other in the Champions League group stages for the second season running. Manchester City have won all three games thus far.
- Manchester City have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their five away games in Germany in the Champions League.
- Manchester City have failed to win any of their last four away games in the Champions League, drawing as well as losing twice.
- Borussia Monchengladbach’s home games tend to be exciting encounters, with both the Foals and their visitors scoring on all five occasions.
Prediction
Borussia Monchengladbach 1-2 Manchester City
It’s pretty simple for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. Win the match and they will secure a place in the Round of 16 in the premier European competition, most likely condemning their hosts to the Europa League. Andre Schubert’s men are in the middle of a dismal run of form, having not won a single game in four – in direct contrast to City’s run.
The Citizens host fourth-placed Celtic on the final Matchday, and will fancy their chances of beating Brendan Rodgers’ side at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola, though, will prefer to seal a knockout round spot at Borussia-Park on Wednesday, playing a full strength side to get over Monchengladbach.
