Going into a week of football where they have two season-defining fixtures coming their way, Manchester City would be feeling emaciated without the likes of David Silva and Sergio Aguero in their lineups.
Both of them would be irreplaceable for any team, and their continued absence could cost Manuel Pellegrini his job in the long term.
While a 5-1 win against Bournemouth was a morale booster, Manchester City should be careful before over analyzing the situation. With all due respect to Bournemouth, they were simply no match to the expensively assembled squad that came their way.
However, in Sevilla, Manchester City would be facing an opponent that knows how to up its game in big matches like these. While they are sitting at a humbling 12th spot in the LA LIGA, Sevilla still have a squad that could disturb the status quo on its day.
Looking at the importance of this fixture for both sides, a win would either of them to 2nd spot in the Group. However, a draw and Manchester City would remain at 3rd place in their group.
Team News
Here are the team news of both sides.
Manchester City
For a team that is sitting atop of the Premier League table, Manchester City have a very weakened squad coming into this game. In addition to the absence of David Silva and Sergio Aguero – both of whom will be big misses for the Citizens, the absence of Aleksandar Kolarov and Samir Nasri restricts the options for Manuel Pellegrini.
Though Vincent Kompany was dropped from the starting lineup on Saturday, the Belgian is expected to get back his starting position back on Tuesday.
Sevilla
Having lost half of their last six games in all competitions, it would be safe to say that Sevilla won’t be too thrilled to face a Manchester City that that has scored five goals on the weekend. However, add the form factor of Manchester City in Europe and Sevilla finds hope of getting something back from the Etihad Stadium.
The spotlight will be on Yehven Konoplyanka, a player who rejected interest from a host of Premier League clubs in the summer before joining the Spanish side. While he has managed just one goal this Season, Konoplyanka would be itching to perform on the big stage.
Form Guide
Here is the form guide of both sides in the last five fixtures.
Sevilla
Eibar 1-1 Sevilla
Sevilla 2-1 Barcelona
Juventus 2-0 Sevilla
Sevilla 3-2 Rayo Vallecano
Las Palmas 2-0 Sevilla
Manchester City
Manchester City 5-1 Bournemouth
Manchester City 6-1 Newcastle United
Borussia M.Gladbach 1-2 Manchester City
Tottenham 4-1 Manchester City
Sunderland 1-4 Manchester City
Probable lineups:
Manchester City
Hart – Sagna – Kompany – Mangala – Zabaleta – Fernandinho – Toure – Navas – Sterling – De Bryune – Boni
Sevilla
Sergio Rico – Andreolli – Coke – Kolodziejczak – Tremoulinas – Konoplyanka – Krohn-Dehli – Krychowiak – N’Zonzi – Reyes – Gameir
