Key events
Says Pep Guardiola Jeremy Doku has a slight muscle problem and decided not to take any risks. Jacob Neestrup, the Copenhagen coach, said: “We will do everything we can to solve the impossible task. In terms of club ranking points, it makes a big difference for us today whether we lose this game 0-1 or get a draw.”
Big changes for Manchester City: Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Oscar Bobb, Julian Alvarez and Matheus Luiz are all in the starting line-up today, having not done so in Sunday’s walk against Manchester United. All players left out of the starting eleven are on the bench tonight, with the exception of Jeremy Doku, who has the evening off.
The teams!
The team sheets were submitted, and the names on them were these:
Man City: Ederson, Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Rodri, Kovacic, Bobb, Alvarez, Matheus Luiz, Haaland. Subs: Walker, Stones, Ake, De Bruyne, Ortega, Bernardo Silva, Gomez, Carson, Foden, Wright, Susoho, Hamilton.
FC Copenhagen: Grabara, Ankersen, Jelert, Vavro, McKenna, Diks, Froholdt, Oskarsson, Clem, Achouri, Elyounoussi. Subs: Sorensen, Mattsson, Larsson, Cornelius, Boilesen, Meling, Runarsson, Oscar Hojlund, Bardghji, Gadeberg-Burr.
Referee: Espen Eskas (Norway).
In answer to your question: Yes, Oscar Hojlund is Rasmus’s younger brother.
Tonight #UCL Squad 💫
XI | Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias (center), Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, Bobb, Alvarez, Nunes, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Carson, Walker, Stones, Ake, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Gomez, Foden, Wright, Susoho, Hamilton#ManCity pic.twitter.com/wIcExpBAFy
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 6, 2024
preamble
Happy anniversary! Yes, today marks a quarter of a year since Manchester City last lost a game. Since then they have played 19 and won 17. Pep Guardiola’s side is a juggernaut, on a runaway train that is driving a landslide towards a tidal wave. On the road, they won the first leg of that tie 3-1 in Copenhagen, on a night in which they had 13 shots on target – a ridiculously high number and also their third-highest tally in the month of February – and an xG of 3.50, while their opponents had one shots on target – a ridiculously low number and one that three of City’s last seven opponents, and 12 so far this season, have failed to improve – and an xG of 0.33. As if their chances of winning needed to be increased, Copenhagen go into this game with something of an injury crisis, with Viktor Claessen and Rasmus Falk among the absentees. Of course there’s no such thing as a given in football, but the real question tonight is how much City will entertain us on the way to inevitable victory.
“It is almost impossible, but we will be prepared and do our best for Danish football,” lamented Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup yesterday. “We will keep trying. Everyone has to believe that we can do this. Anything can happen at any time. We will give our best. We’re not going to throw in the towel.”
“In this competition it is really important to be focused because anything can happen in football and you have to be aware of it,” counters Pep Guardiola. He says, I think everything can happen the same way Bob’s Country Bunker plays both types of music. Anything could happen – City could win 3-0, or City could win 8-0. So expect drama and excitement. Welcome!
