Manchester City finds itself in a situation it hasn’t been in for a long time. Just 2 wins in 7 matches for Pep Guardiola’s team have brought them to a point where they are currently 25th in the Champions League standings, with 2 points less than a playoff spot. A win over Club Brugge (11PM) would secure what they probably thought would be an easily achievable goal at the start of the season.Three convincing losses for Manchester City are certainly an indication of their poor form. After losing to Juventus (2-0), Manchester City suffered a thrashing in Lisbon, conceding four goals (4-1), and then the derby of the penultimate round at Parc des Princes came as salt in the wound for the already shaken Manchester side. The Cityzens had a two-goal lead in that match, but within just over half an hour, they conceded 4 goals and experienced a humiliating defeat (4-2).Champions League night like no other – it’s time for date with destiny!Now, the aforementioned match against Brugge is their last hope for some sort of redemption in what has been a very disappointing season so far. The current champion of the Belgian league is in 20th place, with 3 points more than City, so Pep Guardiola’s men will certainly not have an easy task against a team that hasn’t suffered a defeat in the last four rounds of the Champions League.A big #UCL night at the Etihad 🔜 pic.twitter.com/67NkILYUnT— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 27, 2025 The Spanish coach was optimistic ahead of this match, describing it as an opportunity to progress further, rather than something that could ruin this season for Manchester City.”The situation that we have is that we have to win the game and if not we will not continue in this competition.We want to have another chance to play another two games, to have the chance of the next stages. It’s not a problem, it’s an opportunity. These type of games I’ve played many times. Sooner or later you have to play them where if you win you go through and if you don’t you go out. These type of games I’ve played many times. Sooner or later you have to play them where if you win you go through and if you don’t you go out.”PEP 💬 I expect a tough opponent. When a team is 21 games unbeaten it is because they are good. There are no secrets about that… [They have] different variations in the build-up. We have to read well what we have to do. But every team has weaknesses. You have to find them and… pic.twitter.com/RZiWzgzhks— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 28, 2025 The Citizens were active in this transfer window, significantly strengthening their defense with the arrivals of talented Omar Marmoush from Eintracht, Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens, and Vitor Reis from Palmeiras. As for injuries, the Spanish expert will not be able to rely on Ruben Dias, Rodri, Nathan Ake, as well as Jeremie Doku. In the meantime, news has arrived that Oscar Bob will, after all, be with the team and available for this match. The last time these two teams met was in the 2021/22 season, when City was dominant at home, winning 4-1.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 8Wednesday 23.00: (1.60) Aston Villa (4.20) Celtic (6.00)23.00: (1.80) Barcelona (4.00) Atalanta (4.50)23.00: (1.02) Bayern (17.0) Slovan B. (75.0)23.00: (8.00) Brest (5.30) Real Madrid (1.40)23.00: (6.00) Dinamo Zagreb (4.30) Milan (1.53)23.00: (1.37) Dortmund (5.10) Shakhtar (7.75)23.00: (5.60) Girona (3.70) Arsenal (1.65)23.00: (1.70) Inter (3.90) Monaco (5.50)23.00: (2.20) Juventus (3.35) Benfica (3.35)23.00: (1.12) Leverkusen (12.0) Sparta Praha (19.0)23.00: (2.15) Lille (3.50) Feyenoord (3.60)23.00: (1.18) Man.City (7.75) Club Brugge (13.0)23.00: (3.05) PSV (3.70) Liverpool (2.35)23.00: (9.00) Salzburg (5.00) Atl.Madrid (1.35)23.00: (1.50) Sporting (4.30) Bologna (6.50)23.00: (3.90) Sturm (3.50) RB Leipzig (1.95)23.00: (3.60) Stuttgart (2.45) PSG (2.75)23.00: (2.60) Young Boys (3.50) Crvena Zvezda (2.80)***odds are subject to change***
