UEFA Champions League
Hoffenheim vs Manchester City Preview
Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim – Manchester City travel to take on Hoffenheim in a crucial Champions League clash.
Pep Guardiola’s side suffered an opening-week defeat to Lyon, which has increased the pressure for this encounter in Germany. Whereas Tuesday’s hosts secured a credible 2-2 draw away to Shakhtar Donetsk in their opening match.
City, who strolled past Brighton 2-0 on Saturday, are unbeaten in their last five Champions League games against German opponents (W4 D1). Hoffenheim play the English champions on the back of a 2-1 home defeat to RB Leipzig on the weekend and are 12th in the Bundesliga.
Previous Encounters:
This will be the first ever meeting in any competition between Germans TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and English side Manchester City.
View From Both Camps:
Julian Nagelsmann (Hoffenheim):
“I play against Pep Guardiola for the first time and, from his professional career, he is a good point of reference. Man City expect to win the game and I’m expecting them to focus on their strengths, but we’ve come up with a very brave plan.”
“There will not be a battle of tactics. Our main strength is our style of play and everyone who takes the field for us will be brave in possession. We will look forward with anticipation and courage.”
Pep Guardiola (Manchester City):
“Maybe you have to realise that you can suffer in the group stage and make a step forward in the knockout phase. We were not able to do that last season, it’s because we were not good enough and we have tried to prepare much better for this season.”
“We’ve five finals now to qualify, we cannot lose a lot of games and we’ve already lost the first one. We know the situation we are in. It’s five finals and this is the first one against Hoffenheim.”
Team News:
Sergio Aguero is expected to be fit for Manchester City. Benjamin Mendy (foot) is still missing and usual deputy at left-back, Fabian Delph, also has a knock, meaning Oleksandr Zinchenko is again likely to feature.
Kevin De Bruyne (knee) is back in training but not yet ready to return while goalkeeper Claudio Bravo (Achilles) is out long term.
Lukas Rupp, Dennis Geiger, Nadiem Amiri, Benjamin Hubner, Kerem Demirbay and Kasim Adams are all out for the hosts. Reiss Nelson, on loan from Arsenal, could feature for Hoffenheim.
Predicted Lineups:
Hoffenheim (3-5-2):Baumann; Bičakčić, Vogt, Posch; Brenet, Zuber, Grillitsch, Bittencourt, Schulz; Joelinton, Kramarić.
Man City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko; B. Silva, Fernandinho, D. Silva; Sterling, Jesus, Sané.
Match Prediction:
Both teams boast plenty of firepower and this could be an open and entertaining contest, although the men from Manchester are strong favourites to get their Champions League challenge back on track. Given the stakes of the match, it is expected this will be a cagey affair. Both sides will be need to be defensively composed should they hope to earn a result. Ultimately, it is predicted that the visitors will spoil the fun and will earn their first victory in this season’s UEFA Champions League.
Prediction: Hoffenheim 1-3 Manchester City
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