Manchester City will begin their defence of the Champions League crown with a very inviting-looking home game against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday evening.
Pep Guardiola’s side have enjoyed a pretty seamless start to the new campaign and boast a 100% record in the Premier League, the latest victory coming away at West Ham after the Hammers put up a very good fight.
This week’s opposition are not leading the way in the Serbian SuperLiga as they have lost two of their seven opening fixtures. They were also beaten by Cukaricki at the weekend before coming into this incredibly tough fixture.
Here is all that you need to know about Manchester City’s Champions League clash with Red Star Belgrade.
Man City vs Red Star Belgrade H2H Record (Last Five Games)
This is the first competitive meeting between Manchester City and Red Star Belgrade.
Current Form (Premier League and Serbian SuperLiga)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports Ultimate, discovery+ App, discovery+, BBC Radio 5 Live |
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United States |
ViX, Paramount+ |
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Canada |
DAZN |
The two major doubts for Manchester City coming into this match are England duo Jack Grealish and John Stones. Grealish has a thigh issue whilst Stones was out of the international break entirely. “I don’t know [how long for] – I don’t think they will be ready for Red Star, but we will see, step by step,” Guardiola said before the West Ham game.
They were without Mateo Kovacic against the Hammers, but there is a chance that he will return to face Red Star. But, given City’s squad depth, there could be plenty of rotation for what will be viewed as a very winnable game.
Man City predicted lineup vs Red Star Belgrade (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gomez; Rodri, Nunes; Foden, Silva, Doku; Alvarez
Red Star do not seem to have too much to worry about when it comes to injuries and suspensions ahead of their trip to Manchester. Aleksandar Katai and Filippo Falco are out of action, but the rest of the squad can play a part.
Red Star Belgrade predicted lineup vs Man City (3-5-2): Glazer; Mijailovic, Dragovic, Rodic; Bukari, Krasso, Stamenic, Kangwa, Mitrovic; Lucic, Olayinka
We’ve seen this sort of game many times over the past few years. Man City seemingly never make mistakes in these Champions League group stage matches against the minnows of the tournament, and there is little reason to think that this will be different.
Even if they heavily rotate the starting eleven, there will be immense talent on the pitch and they can also just bring Erling Haaland on if anything were to go wrong.
Prediction: Man City 4-0 Red Star Belgrade
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