Manchester City can wrap up Champions League Group C on Wednesday night with a win or draw versus Marseille at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s team go into the match on 13 points from 15 possible. Their only blemish in the group was a draw with FC Porto on matchday 5 in Portugal. Marseille are fourth in Group F and have their sights set on making the Europa League last 32.
Reflecting on a milestone match for the boss...Check out our latest official podcast offerring 🎧🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 8, 2020
Reflecting on a milestone match for the boss...Check out our latest official podcast offerring 🎧🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re
The French club need a win or draw and Olympiacos loss to FC Porto to make the last 32 of the Europa League. It should be a tall order for Marseille to finish third, however. Marseille were thrashed 3-0 by Manchester City at home on matchday 2.
Ferran Torres, who is now undroppable, opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Ilkay Gundogan and Raheen Sterling also found the back of the net. Their goals came in the final 14 minutes of the game.
Guardiola could rotate his side significantly for the game with expectations that his team will claim the point they need to win the group regardless. Manchester City are rapidly climbing the Premier League table thanks to competing against the division’s lesser sides.
Since their 2-0 league defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City are four-games unbeaten. If Marseille have a glimmer of hope for a point on the night, it could come from Manchester City’s lack of focus.
The Cityzens face off with Manchester United in a massive derby at the weekend. Due to the close proximity of teams in the league table, a win could propel the victor onto the title in May. A loss could end hopes of lifting league silverware.
While other Premier League managers are dealing with muscle injuries to players, Guardiola has just one player ruled out for the midweek game. Sergio Aguero is still nursing his surgically repaired knee. He is being held back for a possible return in the derby on Saturday.
Andres Villas-Boas has just one Marseille player on the sidelines for matchday 6. Nemanja Radonjic is unlikely to play due to a thing injury.
Although Manchester City put three goals past Marseille in their previous game, this isn’t a high-scoring Manchester City team. They average just 1.88 goals per game in all competitions.
Guardiola’s team should claim a win and top the group. It should be a low-scoring game, however. Expect a Manchester City win and under 2.5 goals scored.