After suffering a shock 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend. Manchester City will be looking to bounce back in a big way as they host Belgian side Club Brugge on matchday four of the UEFA Champions League.
They couldn’t have asked for a better opponent to bounce back with after they easily dispatched Brugge in Belgium 5-1 on matchday three. The Belgian side will be fearful of facing Manchester City after the shock result versus Palace with Pep Guardiola calling for an instant reaction from his squad.
Manchester City vs Malmo FF FYIs:
Kick-off time: 9 PM GMT, 3 November Wednesday
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Man City (WWWLL) Club Brugge (WLDWW)
As far as injuries go, Ferran Torres remains the only concern for the Citizens. He is still some way from returning from the fractured foot that has left him out of the matchday squad recently.
Aymeric Laporte may have been hoping for a rest here, but his red card against Palace means he won’t play the Manchester Derby at the weekend, therefore he is likely to play the full 90 minutes here against Club Brugge.
On the topic of the Manchester Derby that looms large over the selection of this fixture, I do expect several players to get a rest in this one. That means there will be opportunities given to players who are on the fringes of the squad.
That means the likes of Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez should return to the attack. It also would not surprise if last season’s top goal scorer at the club Ilkay Gundogan returns to the midfield.
I fully expect the German to play some minutes – it’s just a question of whether or not he starts this one.
I am expecting nothing but a big win for the home side in this one.
Manchester City will be keen to get on the right side of the ledger after the loss against Palace and poor old Club Brugge are going to cop their wrath.