UNBELIEVABLE DISCOUNTS AT AMAZON.COM ||
By Neel Shelat
Slovan looking to recover from Celtic thrashing
Slovan Bratislava’s very participation in the UEFA Champions League proper is an achievement worth celebrating. This is just their second appearance in the competition after the 1992/93 season, meaning this also is the first time they have entered a group/league stage. In fact, they are the only team in the tournament whose campaign started in the very first qualifying round, and they are the first Slovakian team to make it in 14 years.
Slovan have dominated the domestic scene of late, winning the league in each of the last six seasons. They are quite a fun team to watch under Vladimír Weiss, with a dynamic attack led by 23-year-old striker David Strelec who impressed for the national team at the Euros. The supporting cast includes Vladimír Weiss (the head coach’s son with the same name), Armenian winger Tigran Barseghyan and former Sydney FC forward Robert Mak.
Their defence, however, is not tested too much domestically but has proven to be an issue on the continental stage. They could only keep two clean sheets in eight matches in the qualifying rounds, and were thrashed 5-1 by Celtic a couple of weeks ago.
Unless Slovan are at their very sharpest out of possession against Manchester City, the scoreline could get ugly quite quickly.
Manchester City still searching for a Rodri replacement
Manchester City’s 2024/25 campaign took an unexpected turn early on after Rodri’s season-ending injury. All of a sudden, they have at least a slight weakness in the defenisve midfield position.
Mateo Kovačić has played that role a few times this term including against Newcastle United this weekend, but he has some limitations. He is not the strongest in duels, cannot stop counterattacks as well as the Spanish international did and he also does not offer much in the final third against low blocks.
City will almost certainly sign a defenisve midfielder in January, but they will have to find a temporary solution in the meantime. Mateus Nunes could be a part of that, as could some of the centre-backs such as John Stones and Manuel Akanji. Pep Guardiola’s team selections will have to go a through a bit of trial and error before settling on something, and this match will provide the perfect opportunity for some experimentation.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every Champions League game with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.
