Today was the day of the all-important Champions League draw; always an important date in City’s calendar these days.
Though City have clearly been placed in a group with three talented sides, it’s a draw that won’t really faze them too much. They should qualify if all goes to plan.
Anyway, here is my assessment of City’s Champions League opponents.
Juventus:
Max Allegri’s men performed admirably in last season’s competition by reaching the final where they were ultimately outclassed by a frightening Barcelona side. They still remain a great threat, but the sales of Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal and even Fernando Llorente, should mean that City fancy their chances against the Old Lady.
City have been long-time admirers of Paul Pogba and so we are likely to see him at the Etihad Stadium this season, but only as an opposition player. He’s someone with great qualities of course and now with some holes in the Juventus side, would surely be the key man for Juventus.
Granted Juve have bought well with the likes of Khedira, Mandzukic, Dybala and Alex Sandro coming in, but I would still maintain that they are considerably weaker with those notable losses.
Sevilla:
With the new rule seeing last season’s Europa League winners earn a place in the Champions League, Sevilla have deservedly got their place in the competition.
And they are one of the toughest sides from Pot three in my opinion, so City have been a tad unfortunate there. Unai Emery is a wonderful coach in my opinion and his side recently ran Barcelona mightily close in a nine-goal thriller in the Super Cup. Any side who hits four against Barca must be respected.
Ever Banega, Yehvan Konoplyanka and Ciro Immobile are players that could hurt City, while the signing of Fernando Llorente is a shrewd one. Grzegorz Krychowiak is also one of the most underrated defensive midfielders around. There’s a chance to see a former blue in action as Denis Suarez plies his trade with the Andalusian outfit.
Still, with a refreshed side, City should still have it in their locker to beat Sevilla. There’s set to be a top away day instore too.
Monchengladbach:
City always seem to come up against a German side in the Champions League group stages and so the pattern was no different this time around – with Bundesliga’s third place side Gladbach joining City in Group D.
City have struggled against German opposition in the form of Bayern and Dortmund and I suspect Gladbach, under the guidance of sound tactician Lucian Favre, could pose a tricky test for City.
A high-energy style of play is something that the Blues cannot always contain – the first half of the Stuttgart pre-season game providing that evidence.
Midfielder Granit Xhaka is undoubtedly one to keep an eye on for The Foals, but despite a number of nice names, their squad does not really compare to ours and we should be the overwhelming favourites.
We play them away in our second game and at home in the final fixture, thus meaning the tests against Gladbach could prove pivotal.
