Shakhtar vs Manchester City – Champions League Match Preview

Dan Tracey December 6, 2017 Leave a comment 2,310 Views

Manchester City have already won all five of their previous Champions League encounters this season and they will look to make it a clean sweep this evening when they travel to the Donbass Arena to face Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk.

Pep Guardiola’s men are undefeated in all competitions this season with only Wolves of the EFL Championship pushing them close after their Carabao Cup tie went to penalties back in October. Since then though it has been nothing short of 100% for City.

They may have had to rely on late goals as ‘Fergie Time’ now becomes ‘Pep Time’ but that is a sign of champions elect. It looks more than likely to be a label that fits them domestically but will they be able to win their first trophy in this competition come the end of the season.

Looking at them and PSG they seem to be the teams that are head and shoulders above the rest and could well be the two finalists although you do still have to wonder for all the goals that Unai Emery’s team have scored in the group stages just how they will fare against tougher opposition.

The same can be said for Manchester City and their opposition does not get any tougher than at the weekend when they face Manchester United at OId Trafford. They go into that game with a 13 game Premier League win streak behind them and know that one more could see them make history.

So the question is whether or not they will have more than one eye on the titanic clash at the weekend and if so can Paulo Fonseca‘s Shakhtar take full advantage and be the first team to hand out a defeat to the football juggernaut which is Manchester City.

Manchester City are already reeling from the news that David Silva has picked up an injury and could miss out on Sunday. The Spaniard was the hero after scoring the winner against West Ham last weekend but he will play no part in Tonight’s outing and there will be a race against the clock to get him fit for Old Trafford.

Even without Silva at their disposal this evening, Pep Guardiola will have an embarrassment of riches to choose from and you wonder just how strong he will go with bigger prospects on his mind. Will it be a case of just getting out of the Donbass Arena unscathed

Shakhtar need a point to secure their progress to the Round of 16, if they lose and Napoli win then the Italians will go through thanks to a better head to head record. If Napoli fail to win then Shakhtar will move onto the knockout phase regardless.

I think quite frankly there is no stopping Manchester City at the moment and you simply cannot bet against them, even in tonight’s circumstances I wouldn’t and although I will be keeping my money in my pocket I do think they will come back with all three points.

Here is what social media thinks will happen – you can still vote on the outcome