MANCHESTER CITY will look to save their season in the Champions League when they face Club Brugge.
Pep Guardiola‘s men are currently 25th in the league phase standings, and will exit the Champions League if they don’t beat the Belgian club.
Man City’s season in the Champions League is hanging by a thread[/caption]
Brugge, on the other hand, will guarantee passage to the knock-out stage should they avoid defeat.
They will be a hard nut to crack, having gone unbeaten in their last 20 games in all competitions, including draws with Juventus and Celtic, and wins over Aston Villa and Sporting Lisbon.
Manchester City, meanwhile, have experienced a revival in fortunes – winning five of their last league games – but lost 4-2 to PSG in their last European game.
Here is everything you need to know about the match.
When is it on and what time is kick off?
Manchester City vs Club Brugge takes place at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, January 29.
Kick off is at 8pm.
Where can I watch it?
The game will be shown live on RTE 2, with coverage starting at 7:30pm.
Those wishing to stream the game can do so through the RTE Player.
What are the teams?
Guardiola has been buoyed by the returns of Oscar Bobb and John Stones.
Norwegian midfielder Bobb has been sidelined since the Community Shield last August with a leg injury.
Stones, meanwhile, came on for the final 35 minutes of Saturday’s Premier League win at home to Chelsea,
New signings Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov are all ineligible for the game.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, their Spanish manager said: “The guys who were there against Chelsea are there and I think Oscar came back as well.
“[John Stones] played 35 minutes [on Saturday] and played really well. We will see today how does he feel.”
What are the odds?
Man City are heavy favourites to get the win needed to save their Champions League hopes, and are priced at 2/11.
Brugge, despite their resilient recent form, are out to 11/1, while the draw that would knock City out is at 6/1
What has been said in the build-up?
The stakes could not be any higher for Manchester City on Wednesday night.
And defender Josko Gvardiol likened the occasion to a final.
On Tuesday, the Croatia international said: “I will enjoy it if we win,” he said.
“Tomorrow is a final for us. We want to be in the next stage.
“Our confidence is quite good. We are at home and we will have a huge spirit from our fans. I think we will be ready tomorrow.”
City’s form in the competition has been risible after a reasonable start.
They started by drawing 0-0 with Inter Milan before beating Slovan Bratislava 4-0 and Sparta Prague 5-0.
However, their fortunes turned following their 4-1 defeat at the hands of Sporting Lisbon in one of Ruben Amorim‘s last games in charge before joining Manchester United.
They surrendered a 3-0 lead to draw with Feyenoord before losing 2-0 to Juventus and, finally, gave away a two-goal lead to lose to PSG last time out.
