The draw for the brand-new format of the UEFA Champions League was held in Monaco on Thursday.
Manchester City were drawn to face Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Club Brugge, Feyenoord, Sporting CP, Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava.
Unlike in the previous edition of the Champions League where each teams plays three other opponents in the group stage, now every side faces eight other teams before a league table determines where they qualify for the Round of 16.
As a result, Pep Guardiola and his players will have to adapt to the new format of the tournament — where they will be hoping to finish in the top eight sides to automatically qualify for the last-16.
If City fail to qualify in and amongst the top eight sides, they will have to play a two-legged play-off with another team that was placed between in ninth to 24th place.
The teams that finish between 25th and 26th place will be knocked out of the competition.
As a result, the figures at the Etihad Stadium will emphasise the importance of finishing in and amongst the top eight sides.
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With teams that even finish in the top eight having to play as many as 17 games to win the competition, their squads will be pushed to the brink.
In the past, Manchester City and other previous winners of Europe’s elite competition had to play 10 games to reign supreme.
However, the new format has added a spanner in the works for even some of the best teams in the world.
The updated format of the tournament is likely to split opinion.
Manchester City sporting director Txiki Begiristain gave his thoughts on his side’s Champions League draw.
Begiristain said via City’s official website: “Before we had to study three opponents, now we have to think about eight.”
“When you play four at home and four away, I’m thinking more about the away opponents than the ones at home.”
The Spaniard added: “It’s important to see the calendar, how it affects us and the Premier League. It depends on what you have before or in the following game.”
“For that, we need a deeper squad. We have a balanced squad, deep enough to compete in many competitions.”
Txiki Begiristain was also quizzed about whether he feels the pressure after taking a look at Manchester City’s draw.
“We feel confident.”
“We feel capable to be there.”
“We did very well in the last few seasons but of course we respect everyone. The target is to get [to the last-16].”
Man City should back themselves to beat all their Champions League opponents
Both on paper and based on recent history, Manchester City are a superior side to all their opponents in the Champions League.
However, Europe’s premier competition is one that promises surprises.
As a result, City will not be resting on their laurels and wary of the threat posed by all the teams they will face.
For instance, sides like Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus are well-capable of pulling off upsets.
But Manchester City will be backing themselves based on being one of the best sides in the Champions League over the past few years; winning the competition as recently as last year.
With the opponents the Sky Blues are set to face, they seem like one of the favourites to finish in the top eight in the league table.
Whether City live up to the billing is what will be interesting to see as the new format is likely to bring a lot of trials and tribulations.
