Mancini Requests Sour-Krauts
Manchester City have to quickly get the much deserved victory against Everton at the weekend to the back of their minds as important games start to come thick and fast. Today the side travelled to Munich, Germany where tomorrow they face Bayern in gameweek two of the 2011/12 Champions League competition.
At the weekend both sides won on their own grounds. City beat Everton 2-0 while in Germany Bayern beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Bundesliga. That puts the German side top of the league after seven games on 18 points, yes they have lost already at home to Borussia Monchengladbach!
Mancini will be looking to get City on track with their first Champions League though and even with names like Gomez, Muller, Schweinsteiger (which has to win the award for most German sounding name!) and Ribery he will look to his own superstars to deliver. Badstauber and Robben will be doubtful for the hosts right up until kick off whereas City only have DeJong and Johnson out. Balotelli is banned for this game and Hargreaves has not been registered for European competition.
If City can keep their free flowing attacking mentality I think they can certainly take something away from this tie. With this tie not being their first in the Champions League and with it being away from home I think you will find a more relaxed and confident City side. A win is not vitally important for City’s progression but it would leap frog them above Bayern and really announce them on the Champions League stage. The Bayern Head Coach acknowledges City as his teams ‘toughest test so far this season’ and that sets up for one fantastic night of football.
My team to start for Mancini:
Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, Milner, Toure(Y), Silva, Nasri, Tevez and Dzeko.
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