Champions League: The Search for European Glory Starts for Man City

Manchester City vs Lyon

Manchester City have never really gotten close to lifting the Champions League trophy, but they will once again try and hope that this is their year.

The Sky Blues failed to sustain their impressive domestic form in the European competition last season, eventually losing to English top-flight rival Liverpool in the quarter-final. However, after a record-breaking year that saw them win the Premier League, Pep Guardiola’s men return to the big stage with high aspirations and one clear goal.

They open the campaign against Lyon, an opponent they have never met before. And while they will be wary of the threat that the Ligue 1 side brings, Manchester City will still be confident considering Les Gones’ recent performances.

Talking Points

Injuries to key players are a primary concern for Manchester City ahead of the Champions League group stage.

While they still have enough quality in all areas, losing last season’s player of the year candidate Kevin De Bruyne and, possibly, top-scorer Sergio Aguero is still quite a blow.

De Bruyne scored eight Premier League goals and recorded a league-leading 16 assists in the 2017/18 campaign. Put simply, he was the engine that kept the Manchester City offence running en route to their 106-goal title-winning campaign.

However, the Belgian has played only one game for the club this year—a late substitute appearance against Arsenal in the Premier League opener—after suffering a knee ligament injury back in August.

On the other hand, Aguero top-scored Manchester City with 30 goals in all competitions. He was a consistent threat up front for the Sky Blues, even scoring four goals in a game against 2016 champions Leicester City last February.

Nevertheless, the Argentine star is now an injury doubt for the Lyon clash after picking up an ankle injury in their 3-0 win over Fulham over the weekend. According to the latest Champions League 2018 news, Aguero ‘s injury is not serious, but he continues to be bothered by the issue so Guardiola might opt not to risk him in the UCL opener.

Sergio Aguero will likely join Kevin De Bruyne in the sidelines for Man City's Champions League clash versus Lyon — Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero fights against the defence of Fulham’s Stefan Johansen

With the injuries piling up, new signing Riyad Mahrez, as well as regulars Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane need to pick up the slack.

Manchester City managed to win games even without De Bruyne, but the match with Lyon could be the first time this season that they wouldn’t be with Aguero.

For Lyon, they head into the fixture with the Sky Blues knowing that they are the underdogs. However, they will have high expectations for their players in the competition where every win matters.

Les Gones’ 2017/18 top-scorer Memphis Depay and French international Nabil Fekir remain healthy and should give the Man City defence a tough time. Ex-Celtic star Moussa Dembele, who joined the Lyon fold in a summer deadline-day deal, is also expected to make life a little difficult for the home team.

Unfortunately for the visitors, their current form doesn’t raise hopes of an upset. They failed to win in their last two games, losing to Nice before the international break and needing a late Ferland Mendy goal to share the spoils with minnows Caen.

History

As mentioned earlier, the two teams have never met before and this game will be the first time that they will play each other. Despite that though, both teams boast plenty of European experience which should make their battle interesting.

Manchester City have made it past the group stage in the past five editions of the tournament, even reaching the semi-finals in the 2015/16 season. They exited in the quarter-final last year, but they were impressive in the group stage as they won five and lost just once en route to the knockout stages.

Lyon, on the other hand, played European football in the Europa League in the past season and even made it to the Round of 16. They played in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 installations of the UCL, though both campaigns ended in the group stage.

For what it’s worth, Lyon were semi-finalists in the 2010 Champions League. They also own the record for the most group stage appearances in the tournament for any French club with 15.

Betting Tip

	Manchester City vs Lyon	Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.36
	September 20, 3:00 (GMT+8)

One could say that this is a David-vs-Goliath match-up, especially with the Champions League 2018 odds at SBOBET putting Guardiola’s men as the overwhelming favourites. However, considering that Lyon know very well what they are up against, I expect them to fight for a draw and do damage limitation instead.

I believe Bruno Genesio will use a more defensive approach for Lyon in this game, and considering Manchester City lack that creativity in midfield without De Bruyne, I think they will have a hard time breaking down the visitors’ defence.

Make no mistake, I think the Sky Blues will win, albeit just not as high-scoring as many of you expect. Besides, only two out of Manchester City’s six group games last year ended with more than four goals.