‘Won’t be a stroll’: Reasons Man City should be wary

Manchester City should be confident of success in Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Villarreal, but it is “not going to be a stroll” for Pep Guardiola’s side, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.

The 2023 Champions League winners have put together an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W6 D2), most recently beating Everton 2-0 in the Premier League last weekend courtesy of two goals from Erling Haaland, who is in “sensational form” at present.

City have also picked up four points from their opening two League Phase fixtures in the Champions League, following up a 2-0 home win over Napoli on matchday one with a frustrating 2-2 draw with Monaco three weeks ago.

Villarreal, meanwhile, are yet to win in the Champions League this term – losing 1-0 at Tottenham and drawing 2-2 with Juventus – while they let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 with Real Betis in La Liga last weekend.

McInerney is hopefully that Man City will get the better of Villarreal on Tuesday, but he believes that the Spanish outfit could have “a lot to offer” on home soil against a Citizens side without the presence of star midfielder Rodri and defender Abdukodir Khusanov due to injury.

“[Villarreal] are third in La Liga, so they’re obviously having a really good start,” McInerney told Sports Mole.

Reasons for Man City to be wary and confident before Villarreal clash

“It’s not a spectacular squad in terms of household names. Of course they lost [Alex] Baena (to Atletico Madrid) and Thierno Barry to Everton in the summer, two of their better players, but they’re still a really functional unit, aggressive, they’ll press really hard and are comfortable on the ball as you’d expect.

“I’m not that confident about this actually. I think away from home makes it difficult. You look at the fixtures that City have got and this should be one that you’d expect them to win, but I don’t think it’s going to be a stroll.

“They are one of the best teams in La Liga, currently their form is strong, and they’ll be more than up for this. If Rodri was available, that would change my confidence levels, but he isn’t. No Khusanov yet, [his return] would be a nice shot in the arm defensively.

“Having said all that, City are a better side than Villarreal, even though they’re in good form. City’s current unbeaten run, eight games (in all competitions) and no losses since [Gianluigi] Donnarumma joined, suggests that City will rightfully be favourites.

“A victory here would be nice. You need to get those points on the board early on. The Napoli victory was good, the Monaco draw was a little bit disappointing, but three points here – and then you’ve got Dortmund after that – that’s sets it up really nicely for the backend of the League Phase of the Champions League.

“Villarreal are showing no signs of slowing down from last year, so they’ll be a serious side I’m sure, but Guardiola and the other data analysts would have done their research.”

On reflection, McInerney added: “I think City – with all the options in a sort of resurgent bill of health, certain players back including [Rayan] Cherki and [Omar] Marmoush – I think it’ll help and I’m reasonably confident. Even if I think Villarreal have potentially got a lot to offer I think City should be okay.”

City preparing for “interesting challenge” against 4-4-2 Villarreal setup

Sharing his thoughts on the likelihood of Villarreal deploying a 4-4-2 setup against Man City, McInerney added: “I think City will do their own thing, but bring it on!

“It’s quite interesting to see a 4-4-2 and I suspect that means they’ll cede a little bit of control in midfield. I think City will look to capitalise on that, so if they’re going to play 4-4-2, City will be very aggressive centrally to control it.

“I think the combination of Nico Gonzalez, [Phil] Foden and [Tijjani] Reijnders – it will probably be those three again in midfield – should be more than enough there. But it’s an interesting challenge because I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone play 4-4-2 against Manchester City.

“A lot of teams defend in a 4-4-2, even if they’re playing 4-3-3 or something like that, but actually attacking a 4-4-2, yeah it’ll be interesting. I look forward to seeing City counter that.

“I do expect City will just dominate centrally. Villarreal will have the two strikers pressing, I presume, and not as many in the build-up for them in the middle… I’m looking forward to seeing a 4-4-2 because in 2025 that feels mad, but it’ll be exciting.”

McInerney has also given his verdict on which players could feature in Guardiola’s starting lineup, including midfielder Mateo Kovacic who is yet to start for Man City this season since recovering from Achilles surgery in the summer.

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