Manchester City face Juventus at the Allianz Stadium in the UEFA Champions League with the hope of getting a victory in order to rise up the league table.
The Blues are in poor form with one win in their last nine games, whilst Juventus are unbeaten in Serie A but lie in sixth place after drawing nine of their 15 league games.
Here are five things to look out for in the European clash:
A tired squad
SK Slovan Bratislava v Manchester City - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD2 Photo by Christian Hofer - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
A few of City’s key players are dead on their feet at the moment, and the continuation of games for once isn’t helpful in helping them get back into form.
The likes of Erling Haaland, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Josko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis all look burnt out after having to play every game due to no suitable squad alternatives, and it’s showing on the pitch.
Not replacing Julian Alvarez looks like an evermore questionable decision by City as Haaland’s goals have dried up somewhat after a scintillating start to the season.
Leaving just seven senior defenders - two of whom, John Stones and Nathan Ake, are often injured - has also shown to be a poor decision and one that resonates with the 2019/20 season of makeshift defences.
Kevin de Bruyne is back but can’t start every game, and Phil Foden is out of form as well after a scintillating campaign last year.
The squad on the whole has seen its best days, and it’ll likely be refreshed significantly in the summer.
But for now, they’re making doing with what they have, and with Pep Guardiola at the helm it won’t be long before we see them shine again.
The same midfield as against Forest
UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD5Manchester City FC v Feyenoord Rotterdam Photo by ANP via Getty Images
After being afforded a rest against Crystal Palace, we’ll hopefully see Jack Grealish return to the City starting XI.
Behind De Bruyne he was City’s second best player in their comfortable 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest, bringing an unfamiliar sense of control and stability to the midfield.
Grealish was deemed not fit enough to start against Crystal Palace at the weekend due to the short turnaround in games, but this time around he’ll hopefully be playing in central areas again which will significantly improve City’s chances of a solid performance.
Kovacic’s return
Sporting CP v Manchester City - UEFA Champions League Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images
He’s already been confirmed not fit enough to start, but the return of Mateo Kovacic will solve a few current problems.
City’s number eight is silky and composed with the ball and is better at defending transitions than Gundogan in defensive midfield.
City have struggled without him and now that he’s back from injury and hopefully able to start the derby at the weekend, he’ll give them a fighting chance at competing for the rest of the month until they can recruit in January.
Ederson starting in goal
Manchester City Training Session And Press Conference - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
City’s number one goalkeeper for the last seven years has recently lost his place to Stefan Ortega-Moreno, but the Brazilian should return against the Old Lady.
Ortega started the last few Champions League matches before Ederson took his place in the 3-3 draw with Feyenoord, the last match he played as Ortega played the Premier League fixtures against Liverpool, Forest and Crystal Palace.
Guardiola has remained insistent that Ederson is his number one, and I expect this to be the opportunity for him to break back into the side.
A draw
Crystal Palace FC v Manchester City FC - Premier League Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
As mentioned above, Juventus have been the masters of the draw this season and with two of City’s last four games ending in a tie it would hardly be surprising if that is the result this time out too.
It’d be something for City - one win from 10 games is an appalling run but a clean sheet at least would show signs of progress.
A win would be ideal especially with PSG away coming up after Christmas but a draw will keep City very much still in the mix to qualify for the round of 16, and perhaps even automatically.