Manchester City must use everything in their arsenal to overturn the dire run of form as they face Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola’s side are enjoying a torturous time out on the pitch at the moment, and having had such a successful time at Etihad Stadium, the Catalan boss now faces a different task in steering his side through a tough time across competitions.
Questions have been asked of this Manchester City side and their recent decline, and while it’s true the Premier League champions have struggled with injuries, the rest of the available cohort have not stepped up as you would have expected.
Currently, City sit 10th in the UEFA Champions League table, and just two points off the top eight places, while a victory on Tuesday night would bring back some confidence to the winners of the 2023 edition of the tournament.
A win is not just crucial for their rankings in UEFA’s premier club competition, City also have an upcoming heavyweight clash against league leaders and title rivals Liverpool. Therefore, the spirit inside the City camp needs lifting before a potentially season-defining fixture.
Last time out, City tasted defeat for the fifth time in a row across competitions. In a result that shocked many, Tottenham dealt the Sky Blues a 0-4 hammering in a damning performance at the Etihad Stadium, with James Maddison scoring an early double inside 20 minutes.
The affair went from bad to worse as former Manchester City full-back Pedro Porro extended his side’s lead, while Brennan Johnson landed the final blow before the final whistle as he tapped home from inside the six-yard-box.
The visitors on Tuesday night have rather unsurprisingly been in better form than Pep Guardiola’s side. Brian Piske’s squad come into the match off the back of successive wins, having recently picked up 3-0 and 4-1 victories over Heerenveen and Almere, respectively.
As Manchester City look to stop the rot, here is everything you need to know ahead of the encounter at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night!
Match Details
Manchester City take on Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday 26th November, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 GMT.
Match Officials
Romanian referee Radu Petrescu will take charge of the contest at the Etihad Stadium, having managed many European clashes already this season – the highlight being Aston Villa’s historic 1-0 win over German giants Bayern Munich.
You can find the full list of match officials including those on VAR, below!
Team News
Manchester City will of course remain without Rodri and Oscar Bobb for Tuesday night’s European affair, whilst Mateo Kovacic remains at the centre of a potentially one month-long lay-off and was absent from training on Monday.
The latest problem to be endured by Pep Guardiola’s side concerns John Stones, as the England international was replaced at the half-time interval of Saturday’s 0-4 loss to Liverpool and was also absent from training prior to the clash against Feyenoord.
Onto more positive news and Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku became the latest ailing stars to return to training ground duties this week, putting themselves into contention for the meetings against Feyenoord, Liverpool, and beyond.
Head To Head
Manchester City match up favourably against Feyenoord, although there has been limited fixtures between the two sides, with Tuesday night’s hosts having won both matches dating back to 2017. Guardiola’s team came out 0-4 victors in the Netherlands, before keeping another clean sheet in a 1-0 win at home.
Remarkably, John Stones found himself on the scoresheet twice in the 0-4 away win, something that certainly does not happen very often. In contrast, also on the scoresheet that night was Manchester City legend, Sergio Agüero.
At the Etihad Stadium in the other fixture during the same Group Stage campaign, Raheem Sterling scored the only goal of the match in Manchester City’s 1-0 win over then-Dutch champions Feyenoord.
Statistics
Feyenoord have only won once against English opposition in the UEFA Champions League or European Cup. This came against Newcastle in 2002 in a 1-0 win.
Sporting CP ended Manchester City’s run of 26 games unbeaten in this competition. Pep Guardiola’s team have not lost back-to-back games in the UEFA Champions League since 2018 – a run of four matches.
Manchester City are unbeaten in 33 home matches in the UEFA Champions League. Only Barcelona’s 38-game home run from 2013 to 2020 beats this record.
Feyenoord have won both of their away matches in the UEFA Champions League so far this season (3-2 v Girona and 3-1 v Benfica). They have never previously won three consecutive away games in the European Cup/Champions League.
19-year-old Antoni Milambo has scored three goals in three UEFA Champions League games this season, while the only Dutch teenager to score more in a single edition is Patrick Kluivert (4 in 1995-96 for Ajax).
How To Watch
Fans in the United Kingdom will be able to follow on Amazon Prime Video. Coverage is expected to start at 18:30 GMT, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 GMT.
Viewers in the United States can watch the match via Paramount+.
You can find full global TV listings for the matchday five 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!
