Manchester City vs. Juventus: Starting Lineup and Preview
- By Adam Currie on October 1, 2010 01:13 GMT
Premier League contenders Manchester City play host to Italian giant Juventus this evening, in what is probably the most high profile match of the night
Roberto Mancini's side finally lock horns with the Italians after overcoming Red Bull Salzburg 2-0 in their opening clash to go top of Group A
City head into this clash knowing that Juventus will be looking to rebound from their shock opener draw to Polish minnows Lech Poznan a couple of weeks ago.
City will also revel in the knowledge that the Italian contingent have not won in a single game in nine attempts in England, with their last victory registered in 1996.
For Manchester City- Summer signing Mario Balotelli is still not fit for tonight’s showdown, as he continues to recover from a knee injury.
On a positive front, Micah Richards is thought to be available, most likely off the bench, after sitting out City's win over Chelsea last weekend with a hamstring injury.
Manchester City starting XI: Hart; Kompany; Toure; Boateng; Zabaleta; De Jong; Vieria; Wright-Phillips; Silva; Tevez; Adebayor
Wright-Phillips is a returner, while Wayne Bridge and Aleksandar Kolarov are still sidelined.
After an indifferent start in the Serie A, Juventus will earmark the Europa League as a competition they believe they can win, with tonight being the best yard stick to measure their abilities.
With dreams of European glory aside, the Manchester men head in as massive favourites heading into a game that they should win rather comfortably.
There are numerous factors as to why City appear the better bet on paper, none more so than Juventus’ vulnerabilities in defence.
With Mancini outsmarting Ancelotti last weekend, there is a clear feeling that he won’t have much trouble doing the same against a club that he knows well from his days in the Serie A
This game does present a good opportunity for the Juventus XI to finally state a case ahead of more current 'high profile' Italian names such as AC and Inter, however one would struggle to see how their defence can hold out to the forward gusto of Carlos Tevez, Adam Johnson, David Silva and James Milner.
