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Manchester City will be looking to continue a great start to their Champions League campaign when they visit Marseille in France. The loss of Man City’s outstanding options means this could be a difficult one for Pep Guardiola’s pupils against a rather solid Marseille defence, conceding only eight times in seven games this season.
Watch on BT Sport 2 at 21:00 PM, Tue 27th Oct
Marseille’s ambitions of competing for the go-ahead ticket in Group C of the Champions League group stage were beaten in cold water as they lost 0-1 to Olympiakos Piraeus in the last visit. This defeat made the french football representative’s goal of going forward much more difficult as they had to compete against opponents who were not easy in the group.
The Ligue 1 side have made a solid start to the domestic season, currently fourth after eight games, but were beaten by Olympiacos in their European opener last week. Olympique Marseille started the Ligue 1 season strongly but have dropped to fourth in the table in the last few weeks, they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Olympiacos last week and will desperately need a positive result against Pep Guardiola’s men. Dimitri Payet’s suspension in Ligue 1 means the magical striker is sure to feature in Marseille’s Champions League campaign, with the French club without a noticeable absence from this fixture.
Man City made a perfect group stage opener when they beat FC Porto 3-1 at home last week, and now they will take on their first task away from home. The Champions League remains Man City’s last frontier after last season’s shock quarter-final against Lyon, and Pep Guardiola will be hoping for a better place here when they meet rivals France again. The Ligue 1 side have made a solid start to the domestic season, currently fourth after eight games, but were beaten by Olympiacos in their European opener last week. But having been held 1-1 by West Ham in their previous Premier League game, Pep Guardiola has some issues to deal with at the club and will have to work hard to win the silverware this season. Pep Guardiola will also have to do without Aymeric Laporte and Benjamin Mendy in defence while veteran striker Sergio Aguero was sent off after half-time against West Ham and is likely to feature in this match. Manchester City will also get star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne in the Champions League this week, with Kevin De Bruyne returning to action for the away side, Marseille will have to be wary of the Citizens’ attacking threat.
Despite a 3–1 victory over FC Porto in the first leg to show their strength, they were struggling at home. Through their first five rounds of the season Manchester City have won only two and drew two while losing one and are currently only 13th in the Premier League table. In terms of the level and ability of the two teams at the moment it is clear that Manchester City are far superior to Marseille. Moreover, the French football representative did not play very well this time so Bongdalu said that if he can overcome his difficulties, Manchester City can completely leave with a separate victory.
Predicted line-up
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