Manchester City will be without a host of key players as it travels to Roma, with UEFA Champions League progression on the line.
Sergio Aguero completed a hat trick and a dramatic late comeback as City beat Bayern Munich 3-2 to claim a maiden Group E win on matchday five and keep its campaign alive.
A win or a draw that isn't scoreless will see Manuel Pellegrini's team into the last 16, provided CSKA Moscow does not match either result in Munich.
But Aguero, the Premier League's top scorer this season, twisted his knee during the opening stages of Saturday's battling 1-0 win over Everton.
City is still waiting to learn the extent of the injury suffered by its talisman, but he will miss out in the Italian capital for a game that is also expected to come too soon for David Silva (knee) and captain Vincent Kompany (hamstring).
Yaya Toure serves the second game of a three-match suspension to stretch City’s resources in midfield, though Fernandinho is poised to return.
Teenage forward Jose Angel Pozo replaced Aguero against Everton and could feature once more, with Stevan Jovetic nursing a hamstring complaint, although Edin Dzeko may start earlier than planned having recently returned from a calf injury.
Samir Nasri, whose importance to City's attacking play is increased in Silva's absence, remains confident the English champions can avoid a third group-stage elimination from the Champions League in four seasons.
"If we play our game, we will win against Roma," he told beIN Sport. "The greatest risk is to play with pressure and to have this apprehension. If we don't ask questions, and we play our game, then we will do it. We have more qualities. If we are eliminated from the Champions League, this is not the fault of the coach — it is the players who are on the pitch."
Bayern’s 7-1 demolition of Roma at the Stadio Olimpico is very much an exception this season, with Rudi Garcia's team having won 7 of 7 at home in Serie A until Sassuolo left with a 2-2 draw Saturday.
Despite being 2-0 down and reduced to 10 men following Daniele De Rossi’s red card, Roma claimed a share of the spoils thanks to Adem Ljajic's brace.
Similar resilience will serve it well Wednesday, when former Arsenal forward Gervinho believes the pressure will be firmly on City's expensively assembled squad.
He told The Sun on Sunday: "City are obliged to win. They have all the pressure. Not Roma. City are in the same period that Chelsea used to be before they won [the Champions League]. It becomes complex until you win the trophy.
"The trophy their investors expect to win is the Champions League. City have a lot more pressure than us given the expense they have undertaken to create this team."
Provided CSKA does not win at the Allianz Arena, a scoreless draw would be enough to see Roma through thanks to its head-to-head record over City.
Roma right back Maicon is set to face
No comments:
Post a Comment