Manchester City vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League Matchday 3: Team News, Preview and Prediction

Competition/Round: 2019/20 UEFA Champions League – Matchday 3

Date/Time: Manchester City vs Atalanta – Tuesday, 22 October 2019, 20:00 GMT (UK); 15:00 EST, 12:00 PST (USA)

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, UK

Match Officials:

Referee: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)

Assistant Referee 1: Roi Hasan (ISR)

Assistant Referee 2: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)

Fourth Official: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)

Video Assistant Referee: João Pedro da Silva Pinheiro (POR)

Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)

UEFA Referee Observer: Eugen Strigel (GER)

UEFA Delegate: Roland Tis

Live Stream: BT Sport Live (UK); Bleacher Report Live (USA)

Match Preview

City face Champions League newcomers Atalanta on Tuesday, knowing that a win against the Italian debutants will move them one step closer to qualification from Group C. City have won both their opening games so far, while their opponents have failed to gain a single point, losing to both Dinamo Zagreb and Shahktar Donetsk.

Domestically, the Italians are enjoying life in Serie A, having won five of their opening eight games and sit in third place in the league, just five points behind leaders Juventus.

City returned to winning ways on Saturday evening by beating Crystal Palace 2-0 at Selhurst Park, in a match where manager Pep Guardiola played two midfielders as centre backs. Victory for the blues will put them on 9 points, and with Shakhtar and Zagreb meeting in Croatia, City could find themselves well clear of the chasing back by Tuesday night.

Team News

City welcome back Kyle Walker and Nicolas Otamendi to the squad after both missed Saturday’s win at Palace. John Stones could also feature at some point following his return from a thigh injury. Sergio Aguero may return to the starting line-up, after being dropped to the bench at Selhurst Park.

Prediction

City have scored five goals without reply, while Atalanta have scored one and conceded, and as good as they are domestically, I can’t really see the Italians getting anything from this game.

City 3-0 Atalanta