Both clubs are defending champions on the home front, but they meet on the Champions League stage for the first time in history.
The September international break will have given Manchester City and Red Star Belgrade time to strategize for the next one month of uninterrupted club football. Manchester City have been racking up wins this season, as at the time of writing, Pep Guardiola’s men have won all four games on the domestic front and there’s a UEFA Cup success in the mix too.
The Citizens kicked off the season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Vincent Kompany’s Burnley at Turf Moor courtesy of goals from the explosive Erling Haaland (brace) and Rodri. A difficult yet important win at the Etihad over Newcastle followed before another gritty 2-1 win over newly-promoted Sheffield United. Haaland and Rodri were the goal scorers once again. Just before the international break, a comprehensive 5-1 mauling of Fulham where Haaland grabbed his first hat trick of the season followed.
At the weekend, it was not smooth sailing for the Citizens as they had to come from behind to claim a win in the Premier League against West Ham, going on to win by a 3-1 scoreline, courtesy of goals from Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva and the usual suspect of Erling Haaland. Needless to say, Guardiola’s men go into the game against Red Star Belgrade with a perfect record so far this term and they will be expected to keep that up.
Red Star Belgrade have been fantastic this season as well. They have already racked up five wins in their opening six games of the Serbian Super Liga. One interesting fact is that they have scored a minimum of two goals in those games and with a total of 20 goals.
This will be their first-ever meeting and it promises to be an interesting one to behold. However, Manchester City, who are on a nine-game winning streak at home in the Champions League (keeping six clean sheets), might be too difficult for the Serbians to handle. To make matters worse, the Serbian Champions haven’t scored in any of their last four games in this competition.
Forwards Peter Olayinka and Osman Bukari have been struggling in front of goal of late. The African pair have not been able to find their early season spark despite the high-scoring games Red Star Belgrade has been involved in. Both players are without any goal involvement in their last 270 minutes of football.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola makes a return to the Manchester City bench after being away for two weeks recovering from a back surgery. During his absence, the Citizens did not lose their steam and it is expected that they will continue firing on all cylinders. Bakhar Barak and Red Star Belgrade have a difficult task on their hands and they know it.
Match tickets
The match at the Etihad Stadium kicks off on Tuesday 19th September, at 8 pm UK time and it will be shown live on BeIN Sports, with coverage starting from around 7 PM.
The new Champions League campaign is expected to be an exciting one and the 55,000-capacity stadium in Manchester should provide sufficient entertainment. Par for the course, Red Star Belgrade should have some pockets of fans cheering their team up in this game.
Manchester City are defending champions and this will be their first European game at home since winning the trophy. Getting tickets for Manchester City vs Red Star Belgrade tickets will be difficult given the significance of the game and the kind of opposition. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring) is the most notable absentee. Elsewhere, Jack Grealish and John Stones – who both missed the international break with England – could be unavailable for the clash at the Etihad on Tuesday. Midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who also missed the international break with Croatia, is a doubt for the game. New signing Matheus Nunes is an option to make his debut in the starting XI as a result.
Line-ups
Erling Haaland continues to come up with the goods for Manchester City. He has been getting the goals and his 12 goals in the Champions League last season are more than any other player. Guardiola has found a way to play the Norwegian alongside Julian Alvarez and this might be the selection once again.
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Ake; Rodri, Nunez; Doku, Alvarez, Foden; Haaland
Red Star Belgrade has been deploying a back three under Barak since the start of the season. It has worked to a large extent on the home front and it could be retained for this trip to Manchester as well.
This means the likes of Peter Olayinka, Vladimir Lucic, and Osman Bukari are all expected to start in Manchester. Meanwhile, no players are currently reported injured or suspended.
Red Star Belgrade: Glazer; Degenek, Mijailovic, Dragovic; Bukari, Krasso, Stamenic, Kangwa, Mitrovic; Jackson, Lucic, Olayinka
Prediction
The Citizens got their hands on the elusive Champions League trophy last season and there will be little or no pressure to deliver it this season. However, they have been excellent across all games this campaign. Five of Man City’s last nine Champions League home games have seen over 3.5 goals scored in them and Red Star Belgrade have lost all six of their away games in the Champions League to date, conceding 22 goals and only scoring twice in return.
Two of those aforementioned defeats came in England, losing 4-0 to Liverpool in 2018/19 and 5-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in 2019/20. Red Star Belgrade has been finding it difficult coming to England and it could be another long night in Manchester.
Manchester City 4-0 Red Star Belgrade