Manchester City travel to Greece to continue their UEFA Champions League campaign against Olympiacos on Wednesday. So let’s take a look at the team news ahead of this game. City had a disappointing return after the international break, as they lost 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur.
Though they are stuttering in the Premier League, the situation has been drastically different in Europe, as they have won three out of three so far.
As such they will be tremendous favorites in this game. If you’re wagering, like one can do at W88, you’ll see that City are massive favorites with some really flattering odds. Conversely the odds for an Olympiacos win are quite long. The odds for a draw are quite long as well. There is certainly some good news for City going into this game as Sergio Aguero could make his return to the team after starting on the bench against Spurs. Raheem Sterling is also in strong contention to be starting Wednesday’s clash.
However, there are still some absentees. The players who won’t be playing a part in this match are Benjamin Mendy, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fernandinho and Nathan Ake. They are all doubtful here as the quartet are not fully fit at the moment.
Though this is a tough game, it presents Pep Guardiola a chance to rest some of his key players. There is enough quality in this squad to take care of business, so we might get to see some marquee players, such as Kevin De Bruyne, being given a rest.
Pep Guardiola’s side will want to get back to winning ways after the disappointment of Sunday. More than the defeat, it was the way they lost that should have irked them. They have not been able to score much in the League, ironically as that has not been a problem in Europe.
Another motivation to get the win here is because three more points virtually guarantees them a spot in the last 16.
Once they have done this, they can breathe easy and focus more on the League instead. They will not have it easy though, as Olympiacos are a solid and scrappy team.
With players such as Ferran Torres in tremendous form, Guardiola will be optimistic about how they will do in Greece. Another display like the last time these two teams met, in the reverse fixture, will certainly make him happy.
The Champions League is the only trophy that he has not won at Manchester City and obviously he’s hoping that this is the season that this finally changes. City will look to put out a strong team and continue their quest to achieve win the ultimate prize.