Group F is one of the stronger teams in the Champions League, mainly due to the absence of a so-called weak brother. Manchester City will therefore not receive any points as a gift. The British kick off their European season in their own home against the Olympique Lyon of Depay and Tete.
Manchester City:
Manchester City has taken its blood form from last season to the current year. Last year the men of Josep Guardiola were champion with a street length lead and they broke the magic limit of 100 points and 106 goals.
The Citizens’ season has also started energetically in the 2018/2019 season. From Arsenal, Huddersfield Town, Newcastle United and Fulham was won and only against Wolverhampton Wanderers City had to allow a point-division. Because Liverpool and Chelsea have already won their five league matches, City is in third place for the time being. Meanwhile, City has been unbeaten for twelve official games and lost only one of its last 21 matches in their own country.
This season, City hopes to finally translate national success into Europe. Only in the 2015/2016 season did Manchester City pass the quarterfinals. In that year, the final winner Real Madrid was too strong in the semi-finals. Last year Liverpool was too strong in the quarter finals, the other seasons was the eighth final or group stage already the final station in the champions ball.
Guardiola is not immune from personnel problems at Olympique Lyon. Kevin de Bruyne has been eliminated for a long time and also Danilo and Elaquiem Mangala are not in the top squad on Wednesday-evening. Behind the names of Sergio Aguero and Benjamin Mendy there is another question mark. The French left back suffers from knee problems and the Argentine top shooter came out against Fulham with groin problems.
Olympique Lyon:
Olympique Lyon lost its dominance in French football to Paris Saint Germain. Les Gones crowned the last team in France in 2008. Last season Bruno Genésio’s team finished in no less than 15 points from the first place. However, thanks to an impressive final sprint with nine victories from the last ten league matches, Champions League football was secured at the expense of Olympique Marseille.
This season, Lyon is very difficult to get out of the starting blocks. Only two of the first five league games were won, while the team did not encounter any team from the left row. Last weekend Lyon ran against the insignificant Amiens. With Memphis Depay on the bench (he got a break), 2-2 was tied, despite Lyon playing with a man almost the entire second half. The goals were made by Nabil Fekir and Ferland Mendy.
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / YES @ 1.78
