Manchester City v. Al Ain game preview
Manchester City will hope to secure their position in the club’s World Cup knockout stage when they scored UAE champion Al Ain at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday.
The Pep Guardiola man was rarely bothered by the opening Group G fixtures, crossing Wydad AC 2-0, while Al Ain was on the receiving end of the cruel Juventus performance, falling to a 5-0 loss.
Phil Foden doubled his lead before halftime by Jeremy Doku setting the tone for City. Rico Lewis’ late red card provides the only flaw for the Premier League champion.
City are currently ranked second in the group due to goals differentials, but will confirm their position in the next round by winning over Al Ain.
Based on other results, second place and may even provide a more favorable path in the knockout stage, with Real Madrid potentially waiting for Group G winners.
Meanwhile, Al Ain must beat the big frustration to keep his slim qualifying hope. Vladimir Ivic’s soldiers surpassed Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao’s braces in Washington, plus the amazing Kenan Yildiz strike.
Although Al Ain does have club World Cup pedigree, famously defeated River Plate on his way to the finals, the opposition to Guardiola side would be a bigger achievement.
Manchester City v Al Ain’s Team News
Manchester City will not have the bluntness of Rico Lewis vs. Wydad. Despite city players protests, the young man was fired in the face-to-face meeting of Samuel Obeng in the ground challenge.
His absence opened the door for Matheus Nunes to place the right-back character in an unfamiliar role, and Abdukodir Khusanov or John Stones could also be considered.
With sight qualifying and a tougher test, Guardiola may opt to spin and may debut on the left-back’s new signing, Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Al Ain has no new injuries or timeout issues into Game 2.
Manchester City v Al Ain’s expected lineup
Manchester City: Ortega; Nunes, Khusanov, Gvardiol, Ait-nouri; Gonzalez, Gundogan; Bobb, Echeverri, Foden; Hailan
Al Ain: Patricio; Traore, Ratnik, Rabia, Cardoso, Zabala; Kaku, Nader; Park; Chadley, Raba
How to watch Manchester City v al ain: TV channel, online streaming
Manchester City v Al Ain will kick off in the UK at 02:00 am on Monday, and fans can watch the game on Channel 5 or via DAZN.
Manchester City’s statistics
- Manchester City Win four of the last five games in all matches
- Al Ain Seven unbeaten games before Juventus lost 5-0 to Juventus
- Al Ain reached the club’s World Cup final in 2018, but never beat the opposition in Europe
- In all matches, Manchester City has scored 14 goals in their last five games
prophecy
Al Ain may want to absorb pressure and thwart Manchester City, but their defensive elasticity is likely to break under pressure.
Even if Guardiola is expected to spin, the depth of the city squad should be comfortable to see them enter the knockout stage.
Prediction: Manchester City 4-0 Al Ain
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