Manchester City are back on the road again this evening for the latest match in their 2024/25 season.
After drawing 2-2 with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday, Pep Guardiola’s travel a bit further afield this time around.
Specifically, City take on Juventus in Turin for their latest Champions League group phase clash.
With City still without their long-term injured players such as Oscar Bobb and Rodri, the Blues will still be missing the likes of John Stones, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji for this latest match.
Also, even though they featured in Tuesday’s training session following spells on the sidelines, Mateo Kovacic and Phil Foden will likely not feature against the Italian side according to Guardiola.
Looking ahead to this big tie, let’s take a dive into some key points regarding City’s meeting with Juventus.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Manchester City FC at Selhurst Park on Decembe...
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
MORE MAN CITY STORIES
Ederson or Ortega?
After sticking with Ederson for the first few months of the season, Guardiola has picked Stefan Ortega to play in City’s three previous matches, all of which have been in the Premier League.
Across those three games, the German has faced 13 shots on target, saving nine of them and conceding four goals.
With a big Premier League clash against Manchester United awaiting the Blues on Sunday, perhaps this match against Juventus will be a rehearsal for whoever starts in net.
Either way, Guardiola has a big decision about which goalkeeper he starts on this occasion.
Defensive issues
In their two previous Champions League matches the Citizens have conceded seven goals. The first four came in their away match against Sporting CP, who then had the current Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim in charge.
That was then followed up by City blowing a 3-0 lead within a 14-minute window to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium.
With clean sheets being something of a rarity for the Manchester club this season, the defensive stability will likely be put to the test against Juventus.
Therefore, if the away side were to find themselves conceding more goals, this could reiterate their need to add some defensive strength to their ranks in the upcoming January transfer window.
Grealish back in midfield?
In the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, Guardiola deployed Jack Grealish in a deeper midfield role rather than his usual left-wing position.
Making three key passes and helping his side keep just their third league clean sheet of the campaign, Grealish was heavily praised by Guardiola for his performance.
Rested against Palace, the Englishman could be back in the team once again, but another decision for Guardiola to make could be whether he chooses to put Grealish in midfield or back on the wing again.
De Bruyne and Haaland connection
Finally, something the City fans will be eager to see is the reignition of the attacking connection between Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
In the buildup to the Juventus match, former City striker Stevan Jovetic named De Bruyne and Haaland as being key players for this game.
If the Belgian can get back to delivering assists for the striker, this would undoubtedly give City that extra attacking edge which will hopefully continue throughout the remainder of the season and push the club to more trophies.
Related Posts