Manchester City commence their Champions League knockout campaign away to Dynamo Kiev tonight after a sluggish domestic period.
City is experiencing their worst month of the season and face a potential banana skin in the round of 16 against a Kiev side who represent decent value for the punter.
For such a mega-rich club it’s staggering to think they are yet to surpass the first hurdle of the knockout phase in Europe’s premier competition.
Here some of the reasons why City face a difficult task of conquering their Ukrainian opponents:
City are stuttering at the worst possible time
Manuel Pellegrini’s impending departure is affecting team spirit. The announcement of Pep Guardiola as the new manager of City for next season on February 1 has coincided with an extremely poor patch of form. The Sky Blues limped past a horrid Sunderland side by a solitary goal, were humbled at home 3-1 to surprise packet Leicester City, lost late to fellow title challenger Tottenham on home soil and copped a 5-1 hiding in the FA Cup at the hands of a rampant Chelsea. These are worrying times for a City outfit who look disinterested and worried about what the managerial change could mean for their futures at the club.
Silva, Aguero and Toure not the formidable trio they once were
David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure are undoubtedly three of the Sky Blues’ most important players. When they are on song, the team generally wins football matches. If only football was that simple. Agonisingly, for City fans their little Spanish maestro, Silva, has had an injury-interrupted season which hasn’t allowed him an opportunity to gain any continuity. It’s a similar story for Aguero, who can never stay fresh for the entirety of a season, and when he goes down there’s a clear lack of support in the goals department. On the other hand, Toure appears to be in that sluggish, complacent frame of mind – a familiar sight and the exit door this summer is looming large.
Dynamo Kiev are in a red-hot form
When the round of 16 draw was announced the blue half of Manchester seemed to be quite content, however you take one look at Kiev’s recent form and they are coming into this match with great momentum. On level points with cashed-up Shakhtar Donetsk at the top of the Ukrainian Premier League, they have won their past five encounters, scored 14 goals in the process and let in a solitary goal. The other fact you have to consider is in 16 league games they have conceded just six goals – a phenomenal record in any league. Moreover in the group stage they let in a meagre four goals in their six games, adding further merit to their defensive resilience. Disregard them at your own peril.
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