Manchester City welcome Czech Republic side Sparta Prague to the Etihad Stadium as the UEFA Champions League enters its third match-week of the 2024/25 season.
It has been a return to the norm for City in recent weeks, with Pep Guardiola’s men picking up maximum points in their last three games across all competitions, maintaining an unbeaten start to the new season.
While some would argue, the performances themselves have not necessarily been what we have become accustomed to during the Catalan’s reign, in the Premier League specifically, the grit, determination and never-say-die attitude on display has been commendable.
Previously in the Champions League, Manchester City romped to a 0-4 win in Slovakia with an as-expected, dominant display over Slovan Bratislava. Since then, we have also seen back-to-back 3-2 and 1-2 wins against Fulham and Wolves, respectively.
There is an argument to be made that defensively City have struggled in recent weeks. However, this should come as no surprise considering the absence of Rodri, which will be felt across the course of the season.
Any team would struggle with the loss of such an important figure and City will need to adapt to the loss of the best number six in the world if they want to achieve their ambitions for the season, which Pep Guardiola will hope, and expect, that they will do.
In recent weeks, Joško Gvardiol has stepped up for the side, with an ability to influence games at both ends of the pitch so impressive for such a young player. The Croat levelled the game for City at Molineux with a fantastic right-footed strike from the edge of the penalty box.
His general performance reflected his status as a top defender and someone who will inevitably become recognised as one of the best in the world. As such he was rewarded our man-of-the-match in our Player Ratings against Wolves.
Despite Gvardiol’s colossal performance, Wolves did well to nullify City’s wealth of forward talent. Gary O’Neil’s men took the lead in the tie through summer-signing Jørgen Strand Larsen when Nelson Semedo picked the Norwegian out at the back post for a simple finish.
The game seemed like it was going to end in a stalemate until John Stones, like he did against Arsenal, popped up with a late winner. Controversial for some due to the positioning of Bernardo Silva, VAR decided to send referee Chris Kavanagh to the monitor, with the referee deciding to allow the goal to stand and City came away with three points.
Like the Sky Blues, Sparta Prague also come into this match off the back of three points at home against Liberec. City’s upcoming opponents took an early lead thanks to Tomáš Wiesner before they were penned back through Marios Pourzitidis. Lars Friise’s side left it late but they managed to net in the 79th minute to secure the three points.
As Pep Guardiola’s side look to make it seven points from a possible nine in the UEFA Champions League, here is everything you need to know ahead of the encounter at the Etihad Stadium!
Match Details
Manchester City take on Sparta Prague on Wednesday 23rd October at the Etihad Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 BST.
Match Officials
An all-Italian line up of match officials will be in control of the affair at the Etihad Stadium, with 42-year-old Maurizio Mariani will be the on-field referee.
You can find the full list of match officials here!
Team News
Pep Guardiola confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Kyle Walker is struggling with a knee issue that he picked up during the international break. While the Manchester City boss could not comment on a specific time frame for a return to action, the English right-back is certainly ruled out for Wednesday evening’s clash.
There was some hope and optimism that Kevin de Bruyne could feature in some capacity however this idea was shot down by Guardiola. The Belgian midfielder is still not fully-fit and will not be risked for Sparta Prague’s visit to the UK.
Nathan Aké returned to the City squad at the weekend for the trip to Wolverhampton. The versatile defender did not play a single minute during the 1-2 away win but Wednesday evening’s fixture could provide an opportunity for him to build up his minutes following the Dutchman’s recent return from injury.
Jacob Wright also put himself back into contention by returning to training following an injury during the international break, whilst Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish became causes for concern through absences during Tuesday afternoon’s opening training session.
For Sparta Prague, Imanol García is expected to play no part in the fixture. The Spaniard is not cleared for action having struggled with a knee injury. Joining him on the sideline is fellow defender Elias Cobbaut who has been absent through illness.
Head To Head
Before this week’s UEFA Champions League matchday three league phase encounter, Manchester City and Sparta Prague had never faced each other in any competition in their respective histories.
Statistics
Whilst this is the first time Manchester City have faced Sparta Prague, City have faced Czech opposition before. They faced Viktoria Plzen in the 2013/14 edition of this very competition in which City came out victorious both at home and away, 4-2 and 3-0 respectively.
Sparta Prague have faced English sides nine times in their history over 22 matches. In these, they have fallen short 14 times and came out on top four times. They most recently faced Liverpool in last season’s iteration of the UEFA Europa League where they were defeated 11-2 on aggregate.
Manchester City are currently on a run of 32 games unbeaten, winning 28 and drawing four times, at the Etihad Stadium in this competition. They are only the fourth side in history to achieve this feat, joining Bayern Munich (43), Barcelona (38) and Real Madrid (32).
Sparta Prague are also on an unbeaten run in the UEFA Champions League, albeit a much shorter one. Being three matches unbeaten, the Czech side have won one match and drawn twice. Aiming to go four games unbeaten with a positive result on Wednesday evening, the last time they managed this was in 2001.
How To Watch
Viewers in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the tie on TNT Sports 2, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 BST.
For those wanting to watch the match in the United States, Paramount+ will be broadcasting the fixture.
You can find full global TV listings for the matchday three encounter in the UEFA Champions League HERE!
City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout matchday, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!
