Two unbeaten teams, Manchester City and Sparta Prague, will face each other for the first time, with the aim of climbing the table.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will be relieved following his side’s dramatic late victory over a resilient Wolves side at the weekend. The Premier League champions are already reeling from the effects of missing two of their most influential players, Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri. However, they are still managing to churn out results.
The Wolves result was yet another instance of Manchester City not being able to win comfortably, as was the case before the international break against Fulham. Even in the Champions League, they have not had the best of starts, although Guardiola will be mildly satisfied with the four points accumulated so far in the league phase after two games.
They began the new Champions League campaign with a draw at home to Inter Milan, although they showed their prowess against Slovan Bratislava with a convincing 4-0 away win. As they occupy the eighth spot, well in line with the top 16 places needed to qualify for the next round automatically, Guardiola will be aiming to climb up the table, as the Etihad now hosts Sparta Prague.
Sparta Prague are making their return to the top-tier European competition after nearly two decades. While many may have written them off as strugglers before the tournament began, the Czech side have surprised a few with how they have performed.
While this will be the first time they will face Manchester City, it will be a huge test for Lars Friis’s side, which is unbeaten in the competition after two games. They began the league phase with a stunning 3-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg and followed that up with a 1-1 draw to VfB Stuttgart.
Both those fixtures were considered tough, given where Sparta stood in the European football pyramid. Hence, they will come to the Eithad with the confidence of getting a positive result, and they can also spring a surprise here, as they will surely come here as the underdogs.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola could make some critical tweaks to the lineup ahead of this week’s UEFA Champions League encounter. Manchester City will be without Kyle Walker, Oscar Bobb, Kevin De Bruyne, and Rodri for the time being, with the latter out for the entire season.
Nathan Ake, who has now recovered from a thigh injury, was on the bench against Wolves and could be involved in some capacity, probably off the bench, in this clash on Wednesday. In terms of changes, Guardiola might continue to manage John Stones’s minutes well and bring in Manuel Akanji to replace him.
Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and Rico Lewis are set to retain their spots in the lineup. Guardiola might give Matheus Nunes a rare start following his impressive late cameo against former side Wolves at the weekend. Phil Foden and Jack Grealish could also be set for starts, while Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland retain their spots in the attacking setup.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Nunes, Gundogan; Silva, Foden, Grealish; Haaland
Sparta Prague
The Czechia side have Imanol Garcia out of the contest with an injury and ineligibility, while Elias Cobbaut is unlikely to feature, having not made an appearance for Sparta Prague so far this season. Martin Vitik should be available after a domestic ban saw him miss the game at the weekend.
He could potentially replace Asger Sorensen in central defence and join Filip Panak and Jaroslav Zeleny in a back three. In midfield, Lars Friis will rely on Kaan Kairinen and Qazim Laci, with support from Angelo Preciado and Matej Rynes on the wings. Lukas Haraslin will be the other member of the front three as he keeps his place on the left-hand side.
Probable lineup (3-4-3): Vindahl; Vitik, Panak, Zeleny; Preciado, Kairinen, Laci, Rynes; Birmancevic, Rrahmani, Haraslin
Key Stats
- This will be the first time Manchester City and Sparta Prague meet in a competitive game in their history.
- Manchester City and Sparta Prague are unbeaten in this season’s UEFA Champions League.
- Manchester City have not conceded a goal so far in their two games in the UEFA Champions League.
- Manchester City will become the ninth different English team that Sparta Prague will meet on Wednesday.
- Sparta Prague have only won four of their last 22 meetings with English clubs.
Player to Watch
Phil Foden
The Premier League’s Player of the Year from last season has not begun the new season in the best of ways. Foden has been criticised heavily this season for his displays for England, and so far, he has not been bright for Manchester City either.
However, he opened his account for the season with a good performance in the UEFA Champions League clash before this one, while he provided the assist for John Stones’s goal at the weekend. Overall, he is in desperate need of consistent performances to come back into the fore and help Manchester City solve some of their attacking problems.
Prediction
Manchester City 3-0 Sparta Prague
Sparta Prague might have stayed unbeaten so far, and their two games were not easy either. However, this visit to the Etihad will be a massive test. The away side will come here with a level of confidence to get something from this game. But Pep Guardiola’s side could prove too strong for their liking.
Overall, there is no need to look beyond a Manchester City win, and they might keep a clean sheet in doing so. Guardiola’s charges are desperate to score plenty of goals in a fluid way, as this game could be the chance to sharpen their skills in the attacking third.