Manchester City is welcoming FC Porto to Etihad Stadium in round 1 in the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester City is in 11th place in the EPL standings after the first 4 games, and they have scored only 7 goals while conceding also 7 goals. City is undefeated in their last 3 games, 2 in the EPL, and 1 in the EFL Cup. In their last EPL game against Arsenal at home, Manchester City was the better team with 58% of ball possession, 5 shots on goal, 6 corner kicks, 3 big chances created, and a solid 89% of the correct passes. With the only goal scored in the 23rd minute in this game, City has won this match 1-0. Manchester City reached the quarterfinals in the Champions League last season where they got knocked out by Lyon. Jesus and Sandler are both injured, and they will not be playing in this game. Sterling is the leading goalscorer in Manchester City with 2 goals, while De Bruyne added 1 goal and 1 assist so far this season. Manchester City has started this season slowly, but they are still one of the best teams in the EPL, and once they get their motor running at their usual pace, Manchester City will be hard to stop, and I think it’s only a matter of time before that happens.
Porto is the reigning champion of Portugal, but they haven’t won any of their last 2 games. During this stretch, Porto has conceded 5 goals while scoring 3 goals. After 4 games in the Primeira Liga, Porto is in second place with 7 points, 12 scored goals, and 6 conceded goals. Offensively, Porto is on fire, but their defense is not doing well so far. Porto was playing in the Europa League last season, and they got just past the group stage, but they got knocked out of the competition by Bayer Leverkusen in the next stage. In their last Primeira Liga game against Sporting on the road, Porto has had 46% of ball possession, 5 shots on goal, 1 corner kick, 3 big chances created, and only 72% of the correct passes. Porto was losing since the 9th minute of the game, but by the end of the half time, Porto was able to turn the game around. Porto’s defense still wasn’t playing well, and they conceded a goal in the 87th minute. The final score of this game was 2-2. Alex Telles has been Porto’s best player so far with 2 goals and 2 assists, but he is no longer at Porto. I think Porto got a good group in the Champions League, and they will be fighting for the second place.
Manchester City and Porto have played twice against each other, and Porto has won those two games, but that was back in 2012. Manchester City is the better team here, and I have a feeling this will be a one-sided game where Manchester City will dominate throughout the entire game.