We went into the last game against CSKA Moscow a little under a fortnight ago with not a huge amount of pressure on us. The pressure was there, but after throwing away that 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 in Russia the pressure of Wednesday’s game was cranked up a few notches. For City a win is more vital than ever if they hope to keep any hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages alive. However, CSKA are also looking for the win in order to boost their hopes of third place and the chance to drop into the Europa League for the second half of the season.
After the disappointment of the game in Moscow last month, the players will be very keen to pick themselves back up and fight for some ground in group E. Winless so far, and with just two points from three games, a win couldn’t come at a better time.
One has to wonder whether City would have suffered the bad run of form that they did up until the Manchester derby if they hadn’t thrown away the lead in Moscow. They seemed to be cruising after Agüero and Milner sent The Blues in with a 2-0 halftime lead, but the second-half comeback with goals from Doumbia and Natcho just seemed to knock the confidence of the City squad, and that carried on into the following games, with a lack of the confident and progressive play we’re used to in the following games against West Ham and Newcastle (which both ended in defeats).
City’s injury list ahead of the game seems to be getting longer by the game now. Aleksandar Kolarov misses the CSKA visit with a knock he picked up in the warmup before the derby that’s set to keep him out for a month, whilst Silva is still out with the injury he picked up prior to the derby. Frank Lampard is to have a late fitness test ahead of the return to Champions League action, with him having been out for a couple of weeks with the thigh injury he picked up in the win against Spurs. Mangala is also back fit and could be back in the squad for the visit of the Russians.
On the other hand, CSKA have a smaller injury list with some key players returning ahead of their trip to England. Rasmus Elm is still missing, as is Kirill Panchenko. However, Wernbloom and Dzagoev are both available for Wednesday’s match.
If City want to retain any hope of progressing to the next round, or even qualifying for the Europa League, they have to win on Wednesday night. After the poor showing in Moscow a fortnight ago they’ll be keen to improve on that, and hopefully Sunday’s derby win can act as a catalyst to get the rest of the campaign going – starting on Wednesday night.
