UEFA Europa League Group A Preview: Lech Poznan vs. Manchester City
Manchester City travel to Stadion Miejski on Thursday night to face Lech Poznan in the UEFA Europa League. City are currently leading the standings in Group A, having bagged 7 points from 3 games.
City beat the Polish side 3-1 in the previous group match, thanks to a magnificent hat-trick from Emmanuel Adebayor.
Thursday night’s encounter will be crucial in deciding the eventual winner of the group, and a victory against Lech will confirm City’s qualification into the next round. However, Manchester City do not have an impressive record
in continental competitions against Polish sides; they have not recorded a win in Poland in 3 previous tries.
However, under Roberto Mancini, The Blues are unbeaten in six European matches, and have won both of their Europa League away games this season without conceding a goal. The Citizens are on the brink of achieving a milestone as
they are only 1 short of scoring their 100th goal in UEFA club competition.
Argentinean striker Carlos Tevez is out due to a thigh injury and will not feature in the match. In his absence, Adebayor and Mario Balotelli are expected to lead the line for the Blues. Roberto Mancini may also leave out his key
players, keeping in mind the English Premier League fixtures. City will play 2 games in 4 days in the English Premier League; the latter of the two games, a Manchester derby against their cross-town rivals.
Man to watch: Mario Balotelli
The Italian International made his move - reported to be around £24 million - from Milan to Manchester in August this year. Balotelli played the full 90 minutes for the first time for Manchester City in the match against Wolverhampton
Wanderers at the weekend, and will be looking to start against Lech.
Having played under Mancini at FC Internazionale, Mario will be hoping to impress his manager. His first English Premier League start was not a memorable one (City lost 2-1 to Wolves), but Balotelli has stated that he is still
adjusting to the English style of football.
Super Mario, as he is known as in Italy, has expressed his desire to improve his game and become the best in the world. Although achieving the No.1 status in the world might be a bit too ambitious of the 20-year-old, Balotelli’s
first goal will be to help his side finish in the “top four” in the Premier League this season.
He said, “I want to be the best player in the world. It is good to have ambition. I've said in the past that I don't care what other people want or expect of me because I know what I want. I will always give everything because
I want to become the best. That is my aim and I am determined to make it happen. I am here at City to play Champions League football, that's the competition I want to be in and that is what all the players here want to play in.”
Lech Poznan’s probable starting 11: Jasmin Bric, Manuel Arboleda, Jakub Wilk, Sergei Krivets, Kamil Drygas, Slawomir Peszko, Bartosz Bosacki, Joel Tshibamba, Dimitrije Injac, Marcin Kikut, Luis
Henriquez.
Manchester City’s probable starting 11: Joe Hart, Kolo Toure, Micah Richards, Wayne Bridge, Pablo Zabaleta, Shaun Wright Phillips, Adam Johnson, Patrick Vieira, Nigel de Jong, Emmanuel Adebayor, Mario Balotelli.
Match Prediction:
Although Manchester City will be resting some of their key players, they will still be too strong for the Polish outfit. However, Lech will not go down without a fight when they play in front of their home fans. Final score: Lech
Poznan 1 - Manchester City 2.
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