Pep Guardiola and co may not be In Bruges but they do play them in the Champions League on Wednesday, knowing they may not see the knock-out rounds of Europe’s elite competition for the first time since the Spaniard coach joined the club.
By Alex Roberts
City’s 4-2 capitulation against PSG in their previous fixture was somewhat offset by a 3-1 Premier League win over Chelsea over the weekend but the cracks were still visible, and they’ll have to work hard to get the better of Club Brugge.
The Belgian club currently sit 20th, five places above City in the new-look league phase table, and have claimed a Premier League scalp already, beating Aston Villa 1-0 back in early November 2024.
A rocky start for Abdukodir Khusanov
The Uzbek centre-back wasn’t at his best on his debut. A clear miscommunication between himself and Ederson allowed for Chelsea to open the scoring after just three minutes through Noni Madueke.
Khusanov allowed the ball to bounce while under immense pressure from Nicolas Jackson, heading it back to his ‘keeper but it was too light, and the striker latched on to it before laying it off to Madueke.
Guardiola admitted it was a baptism of fire for the 20-year-old having hooked him off in the 54th minute, but a relatively low-pressure game against Club Brugge might be the perfect opportunity to ease him in a little.
Struggled in the Prem, thriving in Belgium
When Norwich signed Greek winger Christos Tzolis from PAOK in 2021, they thought they were picking up one of Europe’s hottest prospects, and for good reason, he was tearing it up back in his home country.
Unfortunately for everyone involved it didn’t work out, and he was eventually sold to Fortuna Dusseldorf, where he scored 24 goals and provided eight assists in his 37 games across all competitions.
Now at Club Brugge, and still only 22-years-old, he’s continued his fine form, bagging 19 goal contributions in his 33 games so far. Tzolis’ confidence is brimming, City should be wary.
An unexpected Kyle Walker replacement
Kyle Walker is gone, joining AC Milan on loan for the rest of the season, having spent seven-and-a-half years at City, winning 19 trophies in the process and establishing himself as arguably the best right-back in Premier League history. With apologies to Gary Neville.
Although he hadn’t exactly set the world alight for City this season, he will be missed, and Guardiola needs to work out how to fill his void. Matheus Nunes has stepped up for their last three games and done a pretty good job.
Against Chelsea he was one of their stand-out performers, providing the assist for Joško Gvardiol’s equaliser, winning 100% of his tackles, and making eight defensive actions. He may not be there forever, but he’s doing well in the meantime.
Hans Vanaken rolling back the years
In footballing terms, if you’re 32, you’re essentially on life support. OK, that might be a little harsh, but in a world where 17-year-old’s can become one of the best in the world – we’re looking at you Lamine Yamal – Vanaken is an elder statesman.
He earned the player of the match award in their 0-0 draw with Juventus, a side who beat Man City 2-0 earlier in the season, in Brugge’s previous Champions League game.
It was a fairly dull contest, but the attacking midfielder shined, creating one chance, having 2/3 successful dribbles, and made seven passes into the final third. Considering City aren’t the best defensively at the moment, he’s another they need to keep an eye on.
Prediction
However shocking it would be to see City get knocked out of the Champions League so soon, it really is unlikely to happen. Against Club Brugge, at the Etihad, we’re going to go with a 4-0 win for the home side.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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