Champions League Preview: Bratislava Slightly Outmatched, Can Man City Bounce Back with a Big Win?

On October 2nd at 3:00 AM, the second round of the 2024/25 Champions League season will see Bratislava host Manchester City. This is the first time in Man City’s history that they will be traveling to Slovakia for a match, where they will face the Champions League newcomers, Bratislava. Pep Guardiola’s team is currently experiencing a rare period of struggle, winning only one of their last four matches across all competitions and losing the top spot in the Premier League table over the weekend.

In the absence of Rodri, Man City drew 1-1 with Newcastle United on Saturday, with Gvardiol’s goal not enough to secure all three points, meaning that City has only won against Championship side Watford in the Carabao Cup among their last four matches. However, this does not detract from the fact that Man City enters the second round of the Champions League in a dominant position. If Man City can take points away from Slovakia, they will equal the record set by Manchester United between 2007 and 2009 of 25 consecutive unbeaten games in European competition. Notably, since December last year, Man City has lost only once in 90 minutes, so there seems to be little need to worry about their prospects in this game.

Although it is their first participation in the Champions League proper and they suffered a shocking 5-1 defeat away to Celtic in their debut match, Bratislava coach Weiss believes that hopes of advancing to the knockout stages cannot be dashed after just one round. Bratislava has shown signs of recovery domestically since their heavy defeat in the Champions League, securing three consecutive wins across both domestic competitions, scoring a total of 12 goals during this period.

Weiss hopes his team can continue their home form, as they remain undefeated at home this season and lead the league table. He also emphasized that the gap in strength between the teams is too great, and the key matches for qualification will be against Girona, Dinamo Zagreb, and Stuttgart.

In terms of personnel, Man City will have to deal with the loss of Rodri for the season and the uncertainty surrounding De Bruyne’s fitness. Kovacic’s midfield partner is likely to be Lewis and Nunes. Foden may get his second start of the season, while Savigny and Doku will need to fill the gaps left by Aké and Bob.

Bratislava did not choose to rest players in their league match over the weekend, with Wimmer replacing the injured Bagi in defense; Pauschek is also unavailable, while Ukrainian midfielder Ignatenko returns to the squad after missing the weekend league match. Croatian midfielder and number 10 Tolić carries the responsibility of igniting the home fans’ passion, organizing attacks behind lone striker Streck.

This is the first-ever meeting between Bratislava and Man City in history, with a total value ratio of £24 million to £1.04 billion, so there should be no doubt about Man City taking all three points. The question is whether Man City will be ruthless enough and if there will be an unexpectedly large scoreline.

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