MY ACCOUNT
Could this be the year that Manchester City finally end their Champions League hoodoo? Pep Guardiola will certainly hope he has found the missing piece in the jigsaw.
The Premier League champions start their latest European campaign with a trip to Spain, when they face Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Team news
Sevilla will be without forward Tecatito Corona, after the Mexican was forced to undergo surgery last month and is facing around six weeks on the sidelines.
Julen Lopetegui will hand a late fitness test to Youssef En-Nesyri, who lasted just 56 minutes of the weekend defeat to Barcelona.
The visitors look set to be without Kyle Walker, who missed training on Monday after limping out of Saturday’s draw at Aston Villa.
Summer signing Kalvin Phillips, who has made just one substitute appearance this term, is likely to come into contention having returned to training.
The stats
Sevilla have made a name for themselves in recent years for European success, winning the Europa League four times over the last decade.
The Andalucians have also finished fourth in LaLiga in the last three campaigns, but a poor start this time around suggests they may be facing a season of struggle.
Four games into the domestic season and Sevilla are just outside the relegation zone, after collecting just one point to date.
The latest loss was a 3-0 home defeat to Barcelona but prior to that, Lopetegui’s men had not played any of the teams considered top-four rivals, losing to Osasuna and Almeria and drawing at home to Real Valladolid.
Last season, City won just two of their six away games in the Champions League, with those victories coming at Brugge and Sporting Lisbon.
It was ultimately their downfall in last season’s competition, with two injury-time goals in the Bernabeu leading to an extra-time defeat to Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
Prior to last season though, Guardiola’s men had enjoyed plenty of success away from home and went on a 10-game unbeaten run on the road — which included victories at PSG, Real Madrid, Marseille and Borussia Dortmund.
City’s only dropped points in the Premier League this season have also been away from the Etihad, with draws at both Newcastle and Aston Villa.
The only time these two teams met previously was back in the 2015-16 group stages, when City won both games home and away.
Prediction
Pundits have been crying out for Manchester City to bring in an out-and-out striker since Sergio Aguero’s decision to move on from the Etihad.
For the last two seasons, the Citizens have tried (and almost succeeded) to win Europe’s top prize without using an attacking focal point.
Now though they have one of the best strikers in Europe in their ranks, with the summer addition of Erling Haaland — who has already bagged 10 goals in his first six Premier League matches.
The Norwegian has certainly made waves in the Champions League before, scoring 23 goals in 19 appearances, although he is yet to make it past the quarter-finals stage.
Haaland now appears to offer a different threat for the already dangerous City team, with the 22-year-old having previous success against Tuesday’s opponents.
Back in the 2020-21 season, the striker bagged four goals for Borussia Dortmund across their two-legged last-16 clash with Sevilla — with the Bundesliga side eventually running out 5-4 aggregate winners.
City look to have been handed a favourable draw and Guardiola’s men are more than capable of starting their Group G campaign with a comfortable win.
