After a thoroughly uplifting and exhilarating draw away at Liverpool on Sunday, Man City host FC Copenhagen in the second leg of their UEFA Cup tie. The firstencounter, last week in Denmark, ended in a 2-2 draw, so both sides still have a wonderful chance to progre s. City will be favourites to advance due to the couple of away goals they scored, but the visitors will think they still have a good opportunity to cause an upset.The Blues progre sed from Group A after finishing top of the table, a position which they are normally unaccustomed to, whilst theaway side, also known as the the Lions, ended in third
Wil Myers Jersey place in Group G.Team NewsBlues bo s Mark Hughes will be hoping his sidecontinue withthe spark, no pun intended, that was so evidentlyshowing againstLiverpool. The former Man United (boooooooo), Barcelona and Bayern Munich striker will surely call upon the services ofShuan Wright-Phillips, the diminutive-in-size, but with the heart of an obese lion, midfielder,since his league suspension doesnt carry into European matches. Nifty Nige de Jong is unfortunately unable to play as Cityare only allowed to register three new players in their squad since the group stages: Shay Given, Wayne Bridge and Craig Bellamy. As a result, versatile Belgian international Vincent Kompany,playing despite a toes injury,will move forward into his defensive midfield role, a position he occupied with great succe s earlier in the season.The dwarf will start
Brad Hand Jersey Copenhagen are in the midst of a winter break at the moment, so the visitors will
Chase Headley Jersey be hoping to catch them unawares. The home side, do however, po se s players of great ability and ones who can cause problems for any defence. Key midfielder Libor Sionko is a Czech Republic international with 32 caps to his name, along with a short spell at Rangers from2006 2007. Another name that will be familiar to may people is that of Jesper Grnkjr, formerly of Ajax, Chelsea, Birmingham and Atletico Madrid. The ridiculously quick winger po se ses Usain Bolt-like pace and is sure to cause numerous problems if he plays, although his participation in this match is unlikely as he recovers from a serious injury. Danish defenderNiclas Jensenwill hopefully start for Copenhagen, as he would be facing his former
Johnny Manziel Jersey club. The cultured left-back played 51 times for City, scoring two goals, one of which was a superlative 25 yard volley from outside the area against Leeds.My Team GivenRichards Dunne Onuoha Bridge Zabaleta KompanySWP Ireland Robinho BellamySubs: Hart, Garrido, Logan, Caicedo, Elano, Sturridge, EvansKey BattlesNiclas Jensen v Shaun Wright-PhillipsJensen will play against his former club and will face SWP, who wassurprisingly notmi sed against Liverpool. The tricky winger will hope to use his pace and skillage to his advantage, whilst Jensen will look to limit SWPs threat.Jensen, pictured here in his City days, will mark his former team-mate, Shaun Wright-PhillipsLibor Sionko v Vincent KompanyIt will be interesting to see how Kompany fares in his midfield role against the vastly experienced Sionko. The Belgian has done well at the back and will look to transfer his form further up the pitch.Ulrik Laursen v Craig BellamyCopenhagen captain Laursen had a short spell at Celtic from 2002 2005, so will po sibly have seen the talents of Bellamy before, since the fiery Welsh striker had a loan spell at the Hoops around this time. After starting his City career brightly, Bellamy has been
Ozzie Smith Jersey lacking in support in recent matches, which is why I would advocateplaying Felipe Caicedo to give him some much needed help.VerdictMan City 3 1 FC Copenhagen Another exciting Europeanmatch forthe Blues, which culminates in a hard-fought victory. Goals to be scored by Ailton Almedia, Craig Bellamy, Robinhoand Stephen Ireland.
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