Manchester City vs Shakhtar Donetsk, UEFA Champions League Matchday 4: Team News, Preview and Prediction

Competition/Round: 2018/19 UEFA Champions League Season – Matchday 4

Date/Time: Manchester City vs Shakhtar Donetsk – Wednesday, 7 November 2018, 20:00 (UK & Nigeria); 15:00 EST, 12:00 PST (USA); 00:00 IST (India)

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Match Officials:

Referee: Viktor Kassai

Assistants: György Ring, Vencel Tóth

Fourth Official: Péter Berettyán

TV Info: Galavision (USA)

Live Stream: BT Sport Live (UK); Fubo.tv (USA) Fubo.tv shows every Manchester City game in a high quality, legal stream. New to Fubo.tv? Click here to sign up at a discounted rate.

Radio: BBC Radio Manchester (UK)

Preview:

Following their impressive wins over the weekend, Manchester City and Shakhtar Donetsk return to the UEFA Champions League. The Blues will host the Miners on matchday 4.

City added to their remarkable tally this season by scoring six goals over the weekend. The Mancunian club now boast a goal differential of +29 in the English Premier League whilst conceding only four goals. City have also kept seven clean sheets in 11 matches in the EPL.

Their Champions League performance, however, has shown different results. They have conceded three goals in as many games and have only managed to score six goals in three matches. They currently sit in first place in Group F, having won two matches and lost once, and will need to add to their tally should they wish to progress to the knock out stages.

Shakhtar Donetsk have also enjoyed domestic success. Coincidentally, the Miners have a goal difference of +29 in the Ukrainian Premier Liha, having scored 36 goals and conceding seven. They have won 12 of their 14 matches, drew once and lost once.

Despite these domestic successes, Shakhtar’s European form is also poor. They have collected only two points out of a possible nine, and on two occasions, could have gone away as the victors.

In short, both teams know they will need to win this fixture in Manchester on Wednesday. Otherwise, it is likely they will not progress to the competition’s knockout stages.

Team News:

Manchester City’s Claudio Bravo, Kevin De Bruyne and Nicolás Otamendi are injured. İlkay Gündoğan, Eliaquim Mangala and Danilo have returned from their injury spell although are doubts for this match.

Shakhtar Donetsk will be without Fernando. Taison and Marlos have returned from their injuries and are expected to feature in this match.

Possible Lineups:

Manchester City

Formation: 4-3-3

Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy; B. Silva, Fernandinho, D. Silva; Sterling, Agüero, Sané

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Shakhtar Donetsk

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Pyatov; Matviyenko, Krivtsov, Rakitskiy, Ismaily; Stepanenko, Patrick; Marlos, Taison, Bolbat; Moraes

Manager: Paulo Fonseca

Prediction:

Unlike a domestic competition, which allows for the occasional error, mistakes are costly in the UEFA Champions League. Both sides did not start their European campaign well, and now they are scrapping for results in the latter parts of the Group Stage. Should either side wish to progress to the competition’s Round of 16, they will need to win on Wednesday.

Unfortunately for Shakhtar, they have never won a match in England. Moreover, Manchester City became the first English team to defeat the Miners in Ukraine. In other words, the odds are against them. City have simply been remarkable at home this season, and aside from the loss against Olympique Lyonnais, it is unlikely Wednesday will present a different result.

Therefore, it is predicted City will win this match. Shakhtar will have everything to play for in matchdays 5 and 6.

Manchester City 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk