Manchester City vs Dynamo Kiev Half-Time Update

The biggest test of Roberto Mancini’s City career so far is underway at Eastlands, where Man City and Dynamo Kiev are currently poised at 1-0.

City have to score at least twice in the game to equal Kiev’s goal tally from last week, and some early pressure very nearly paid off in the first few minutes – firstly, Micah Richards advanced into the opponents box finding Tevez with a pass. The ball, slightly behind the Argentinean striker, was forced wide. The second attempt just moments later saw Richards again in an attacking position, passing a ball across the face of the goal to Mario Balotelli who couldn’t find the target from the simplest of angles.

Kiev’s first attempt came from Gusev, who will be hoping for a similar game to the one he had last week against the Citizens – his shot was fired in low from distance, but proved to be comfortable for City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Mancini’s men have done well to retain possession throughout the first half, but at times have been guilty of not stepping up the pace and putting pressure on the Kiev team. When the tempo does increase, chances start to appear as seen in the 26th minute – after a slow build-up, Silva came deep to help create attacking options, Kolarov’s eventual ball from the left touchline was cleared, but only as far as Silva again, however the Spaniard’s shot hit Balotelli and flew wide.

The game took a turn for the worse on 36 minutes, when Balotelli needlessly followed through into the ribs of Kiev’s Popov with his studs, resulting in a straight red card for the temperamental Italian.

The goal came not long after; Kolarov fired in a fierce shot after a short free kick from Silva, the shot was low and hard that the keeper couldn’t handle.

Team news for City is that there is no place in the starting 11 for Shaun Wright-Phillips, who returns to the bench as Mario Balotelli starts in the side. Also returning is de Jong who has been passed fit, partnering Barry in the City midfield, whilst Partick Vieira is on the bench. They also start with the same back four that played against Reading at the weekend.

For Kiev, their big loss is Artem Milevskiy, who broke his arm over the weekend. Leandro Almeida and Milos Ninkovic also start.

Manchester City: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, Barry, De Jong, Yaya Toure, Silva, Balotelli, Tevez.

Substitutes: Taylor, Wright-Phillips, Milner, Dzeko, A Johnson, Vieira, Boyata

Dynamo Kiev: Shovkovskiy, Silva, Vukojevic, Popov, Ninkovic, Yussuf, Almeida, Yarmalenko, Eremenko, Gusev, Shevchenko

Substitutes: Koval, Betao, Rybalka, Garmash, Nesmachiny, Zozulya, Guiherme