Manchester City are back in Champions League action this evening.
Having seen off Slovan Bratislava with a 4-0 victory away from home in their previous European fixture, City will be taking on Sparta Prague at the Etihad Stadium for the third match in the league phase of the competition.
Pep Guardiola’s side head unto this latest midweek match off the back of a dramatic 2-1 Premier League win over Wolves at Molineux.
With the Blues still unbeaten in all so far this season, they will undoubtedly be hoping that remains the case following tonight’s match.
Looking ahead to this latest match in City’s journey to lift another Champions League title, let’s take a look at some key points Guardiola should be considering for tonight’s clash.
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Keep a clean sheet
Even though City are yet to concede a goal in the Champions League this season, they have only kept one clean sheet in the Premier League.
In fact, out of their eight played league matches, the Blues have conceded nine goals, which is six more than league leaders Liverpool.
Therefore, they need to get into the habit of keeping clean sheets, which against Sparta would hopefully give City’s defenders the confidence and belief they can start doing it regularly in the league.
Get Erling Haaland on the scoresheet
Despite having 11 goals in 11 games across all competitions, Erling Haaland has not scored in any of his three previous Premier League matches.
Even though he bagged in the 4-0 win against Bratislava, getting his name on the scoresheet tonight will have a similar impact if City’s defenders get a clean sheet as mentioned in the previous point.
With the Citizens’ defensive frailties, reinvigorating Haaland and keeping him firing throughout the season will be a key factor in how many trophies the club end up winning this season.
Rotate the starting XI
With City having a small first-team squad and having several figures out injured, rotation will undoubtedly be on Guardiola’s mind.
Tonight’s game against Sparta should give the likes of Phil Foden, Matheus Nunes, James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly the chance to be given some minutes so some of City’s more prominent players don’t get burnt out.
Give Nathan Ake some minutes
Prior to the Wolves match, Guardiola said that Nathan Ake had resumed training following a muscle injury he picked up during the September international break.
In fact, the defender was part of the matchday squad at Wolves for the first time since City’s 3-1 win at West Ham United where he played his first two minutes of league action this season.
With Josko Gvardiol having played so many games recently, it would be ideal if Ake is able to get some minutes under his belt against Sparta to give the Croatian a rest and give Guardiola the chance to start rotating the pair over the upcoming weeks and months.
