After a demoralizing defeat to the league leaders in Chelsea in the domestic league, Manchester City are back in action this week as they welcome Scottish outfit Celtic in their final game of the Group stage. City are currently behind group leaders Barcelona in Group- C of the competition with Celtic already knocked-out. Borussia Monchengladbach have little chance of making the knockout round as a victory against Barcelona will take them level on points with Manchester City who have a 5 goal advantage in the goal difference department. Here is the preview of this game along with the team news, predicted lineups, predictions and betting odds:
The Group-C encounter of the group stage of the Champions League between Manchester City and Celtic will be played on Tuesday the 6th of December at the Etihad stadium in Manchester. The kick off is scheduled at 7:45 pm BST (1:15 am IST on Wednesday)
Team News:
Manchester City will not miss too many players for this game but Raheem Sterling is doubtful after picking up a knock recently. Skipper Vincent Kompany however remains sidelined while Fernandinho will miss this game through suspension for the card he picked up in the previous UCL encounter. His red along with Aguero’s in the game against Chelsea will not effect this competition.
Brendan Rodgers will be hoping to give Monchengladbach a run for their money as their slim chances of qualification remain linked to this game. He is expected to play a strong side but Scott Sinclair and Kieran Tierney are expected to miss out.
Expected lineups:
Manchester City:
Willy Caballero, John Stones, AleksandarKolarov, Nicolas Otamendi, Pablo Zabaleta, Nolito, Fernando, IlkayGundogan, Leroy Sane, David Silva, Sergio Aguero
Celtic
Craig Gordon, Emilio Izaguirre, Erik Sviatchenko, Jozo Simunovic, Mikael Lustig, Scott Brown, Patrick Roberts, Stuart Armstrong, Tomas Rogic, James Forrest, Moussa Dembele
Key Battles:
Sergio Aguero vs Erik Sviatchenko:
In a fierce battle that entertained the last time these two teams met, Aguero will be up against Sviatchenko this week as he looks to keep give his side a victory in the last group stage game of the competition. The Celtic defender has been in decent form this season and is expected to make it hard for the City man on the night making for an interesting watch.
Moussa Dembele vs John Stones:
The horrible night at the Etihad just a few days ago will haunt the English defender ahead of this game and the 20-year old Mossa Dembele will be the man who can take advantage of this dip in confidence this week in the UCL. Celtic will depend on the youngster to provide some goals and the manager will hope that he can get the better of Stones in this game.
Key Stats:
The 3-3 thriller on matchday 2 at Glasgow is the lone competitive meeting between Manchester City and Celtic.
The only other official meeting between the two sides is a friendly at Manchester on 2009 which was won by City by a 2-1 margin.
Manchester City haven’t played against any other Scottish sides in a UEFA competition.
While Celtic have played against English Premier League sides on 19 occasions and they hold a moderate record of 7 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses.
They also managed 3 wins and 2 draws from their 9 trips to England, losing 4 times.
Celtic conceded seven goals in a European game for the first time in their history in their opening game of this season’s competition.
This is City’s sixth consecutive Champions League participation. They have made it past the last 16 only once, it was in 2015/16 when they reached the semi-finals (knocked out by Real Madrid).
Betting Odds:
Manchester City: 4/11
Draw: 17/4
Celtic: 13/2
Predictions:
The two teams produced a thrilling 6 goal draw in the previous tie of this encounter and if that game is anything to go by, this tie at the Etihad can be a treat. But though Manchester City were ploughed at the weekend, they have enough firepower to get the better of the Scottish side at home this week.
Our Prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Celtic