For the third consecutive season, Manchester City have drawn Shakhtar Donetsk in their Champions League group.
The both sides possess one victory apiece in Kharkiv (the hosts’ temporary dwelling )–Shakhtar winning the 2017 encounter 2-1, before City thumped them 3-0 final year –so let us just call this one the decider, shall we?
City will have to rapidly dust themselves down after their performance at Norwich those asserting that the side of Pep Guardiola have lost their touch are utterly bonkers. There’s enough attacking firepower within that group to take any side in the world so any assumptions they will continue to fight are absurd.
To the terror of many lovers, Manchester City would be without Aymeric Laporte and John Stones with this particular trip to Ukraine, and while a bad defensive screen was their undoing from the Canaries, the side as a collective is too excellent to last slipping-up, and that is why I expect them to win and both teams to score; ownership will nevertheless be dominated, chances will nevertheless be created.
Nicol??s Otamendi and Fernandinho are Pep on Wednesday–hardly watertight–an away blank sheet doesn’t look overly likely because City have kept just two clean sheets in their games this year.
While Skahktar have traditionally been excellent in home, draws to Lyon and also Hoffenheim last season to follow the City conquer capped-off a fairly bad Champions League campaign, and that I expect they will bear the full brunt of all City’s fury as Pep indicates the Europe his side mean company once again.
7/4 is a tempter for this one. ??
I’m also financing Shakhtar midfielder Taras Stepanenko to have shown a card.
The 30-year-old has already been booked at three of his seven Ukrainian Premier League matches this season, and for the last two Champions League campaigns he has dedicated the second-highest amount of fouls-per-game in the Shakhtar side.
Stepanenko will probably soon be the enforcer on Wednesday of his team, and I enjoy.
Read more: footballleagueworld.com
Recent Comments