Photo courtesy of Manchester City’s official Facebook page
This could be the season when Manchester City finally advance from the groups in the Champions League. Coach Manuel Pellegrini has made the right transfers and consistently fields the best lineup. Therefore, they can easily advance to the Round of 16.
Their group is as follows: Bayern Munich (toughest opponent by a large margin), Viktoria Plzen and CSKA Moscow. The other two teams are also very tricky, especially on the road, but City will have to find a way to get past them to at least finish as runner-ups to the reigning champions.
Yaya Toure, Edin Dzeko, Jesus Navas, Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart will have to step up their game to lead this team to one of their best seasons as of late. With coach Pellegrini being a breath of fresh air, they now have a new leader and new motivation to use to build on their recent success.
Now, we look at their chances in this season’s UCL.
Bayern Munich will defeat them at home and most likely be able to do the same on the road, or at worst share the spoils. City will cause them problems at home, but with players like Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben being menaces, defeating this team will not be easy by any means.
Viktoria Plzen advanced to the Round of 16 during last season’s Europa League campaign and defeated some tough teams to get there. They are a talented side who, if not taken seriously, can cause some serious trouble for defenses of all types. CSKA Moscow isn’t too much of a threat, but can cause surprises out of nowhere. If City are not anywhere near their best form, they can easily lose to this team on the road and allow a goal or two at home.
City should finish in second this term because the latter of the four sides are not as experienced or talented. The only real trouble they should face is the treble-winning German side Bayern.
