Juventus vs Manchester City LIVE: Champions League crew information and line-ups as Jack Grealish begins
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Juventus play host to Manchester City for the sixth round of Champions League fixtures with both teams looking to propel themselves up the table.
Pep Guardiola’s side come into the week 17th in the table after a heavy 4-1 defeat to Sporting and a 3-3 draw with Fenerbache which saw them throw away a three-goal inside the final 15 minutes. With City also struggling domestically Guardiola will be keen to avoid a two-legged play-off and collecting three points this evening could be crucial to their chances.
For their part Juventus are 19th and level with City on eight points. They were held to a goalless draw at Villa Park last time out which was part of a run of five draws in six matches for the Serie A side. Manager Thiago Motta wants to turn around their form and a statement victory over the Premier League champions in Turin could be the catalyst to doing just that.
Follow all the Champions League action with our live blog below:
Errors leave Man City in brand new territory in the Champions League
Pep Guardiola had his head in his hands. Not for the first time in the Champions League, admittedly. But at a rather earlier stage than usual. Indeed, it felt like an overreaction, given that Manchester City were 3-1 ahead at the time. His histrionics may been premature but they came to look like a premonition. Josko Gvardiol’s hideous blunder proved the start of a Feyenoord comeback: 3-1 became 3-3. Two weeks ago, City dropped two points.
They now find themselves needing to win in Turin. Almost certainly, only a run of three victories will suffice for City if they are to salvage a top-eight finish in the Champions League group stage. A team who seem fatigued, overworked and plagued by injury could stumble their way into a greater workload, with the prospect of a two-legged play-off in February, the second match a few days before City host Liverpool.
Pre-match thoughts from Ruben Dias
The Man City defender said: “I’m focused on moving forward: How we are going to do it, ways to stick together – that’s the only thing on my mind. Whatever people throw at us, whatever difficulties might come, that is the attitude. Now is the time to show character.
“I believe that the one thing that defines your legacy is how you’ve reacted in the most difficult moments of your career. Those are the moments that define you.
“Our belief has always been the same. If we’re on a good level, no one can stop us! If we find our rhythm, we can be very dangerous. If we keep the focus on what’s ahead and don’t get dragged down by whatever has happened, we can find it.”
Guardiola on Juventus
Guardiola also spoke about how to restore Man City’s form and what he is expecting from Juventus tonight. He said: “The mistakes we make are the consequence of not playing the way we have to play. The key is to play simple – our strength is being incredibly patient with the ball, and running like a desperate team when we don’t have it.
“Juventus are a historical team, used to playing under lots of pressure, and they have lots of quality. You can see Thiago Motta’s vision. They have incredible variety in their play.”
Man City in Italy
City’s last game in Italy was a 1-1 draw at Atalanta in the 2019/20 group stage. They failed to win in their first four games away to Serie A sides (D2 L2) but have two victories in their subsequent four visits (D1 L1).
City’s impressive run
The 0-0 draw at home to Inter on earlier in the season made it six games unbeaten against Italian opponents (W4 D2) for Manchester City.
This run that includes a 1-0 defeat of the Nerazzurri in the 2023 Champions League final, since the 1-0 loss at Juve in 2015. Before that, City had managed three wins in 12 games against Italian opponents (D5 L4).
Jose Mourinho hits back at Pep Guardiola with fresh Manchester City claim
Jose Mourinho has insisted that he does not want Manchester City to be relegated from the Premier League, though suggested that it is wrong that “big sharks” find ways to “escape” the financial fair play (FFP) rules.
Manchester City insist they are innocent of charges that relate to the period between 2009 and 2018, where the club won three domestic titles.
History beckons
Champions of Europe in 1985 and 1996, Juventus have also lost seven European Cup finals including five in the Champions League era – more than any other club.
Returning to the European top flight
Juventus have returned to the competition after missing out in 2023/24.
The previous season was their 11th consecutive Champions League campaign, and the first time they missed out on the round of 16 since 2013/14 as Juve finished behind Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain in their section.
Juventus vs English teams
Juventus were unbeaten in nine matches against English teams (W5 D4) before a 1-2 home defeat by Manchester United in the 2018/19 group stage but have now lost two of the last four.
‘City must win one game’
Guardiola expanded on City’s recent dip in form and claimed that they must only focus on winning the next game they play, which is this evening against Juventus.
“We are not in a position – when you have these results in the last seven, eight games – to talk about winning games in plural.” he said, “We have to win a game first, and after that we can focus on the next one.”
