Sparta Prague will travel to Manchester to play Manchester City on Wednesday. Both sides will meet in the third matchweek of the UEFA Champions League. Manchester City hopes to bounce back to its original form, as it is considered the genuine contender for clinching the title. Sparta Prague has a difficult job ahead at the Etihad Stadium.
Match Details
Match: Sparta Prague @ Manchester City
Stadium: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Date & Time: Oct 23, 2024 at 8 pm UK
Manchester City vs Sparta Prague: Preview
Manchester City has struggled since Rodri’s departure due to his ACL injury, which has kept him sidelined. The Blues will have to work hard to secure the three points against the Wolves. John Stones stood up to take the header from the set piece cross delivered by Phil Foden in the stoppage time. Although this seems obvious, a team like Manchester City should be comfortably winning the tie against the Yellows, considering the quality of players on the team sheet.
Sparta Prague has won their latest match by a margin of a goal in their domestic league (Liga). They have not been impressive this season and have a lot to be done moving forward.
Manchester City vs Sparta Prague: Team News
Manchester City
Manchester City is still dealing with the absence of key players, including Rodri (ACL) and Oscar Bobb (leg fracture). Pep Guardiola has also indicated that Kyle Walker (fitness) and Kevin De Bruyne (groin) are unlikely to make their return for Wednesday’s match.
Nathan Ake, who has missed seven games due to a muscle injury, was on the bench against Wolves but is not expected to start against Sparta Prague. Josko Gvardiol will likely continue at left-back. Guardiola may shuffle the lineup again, giving players like Stefan Ortega, Manuel Akanji, Matheus Nunes, Jack Grealish, and Phil Foden a chance to push into the starting XI.
Sparta Prague
On Sparta Prague’s side, Imanol Garcia (knee) is out and ineligible, and Elias Cobbaut (illness) is still waiting for his first appearance of the season. After serving a domestic suspension, Martin Vitik could return to the defense, joining Filip Panak and Jaroslav Zeleny. Up front, Haraslin, Veljko Birmancevic, and Victor Olatunji—each with six goals this season—are in contention, though Albion Rahmani might be favored as the starting striker.
Possible Starting XI
Manchester City’s possible starting lineup: Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Gundogan, Nunes; Bernardo, Foden, Grealish; Haaland
Sparta Prague’s possible starting lineup: Vindahl; Vitik, Panak, Zeleny; Preciado, Kairinen, Laci, Wiesner; Birmancevic, Rrahmani, Haraslin
Manchester City vs Sparta Prague: Prediction
The match is going to be a great watch as Manchester City is stacked with high-quality players. Those three points are very important, and both teams will do their best to secure them. Manchester City has an edge to win the fixture by a huge margin. However, Sparta Prague won’t stay quiet and will be lethal enough on counterattacks, as they have been in the past few matches.
A fun fact is that Joe Mazzula, the head coach for the NBA’s Celtics located in Boston, MA, is also a Manchester City fan. Here are his top starting five. Do you agree or disagree? Sound off below!
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