Manchester City return to the UEFA Champions League as reigning champions after beating Inter Milan 1-0 in a closely fought final last term to complete an impressive treble haul. FC Copenhagen have now achieved consecutive appearances in the UEFA Champions League group stages for the first time in six years after qualifying for this season’s edition of Europe’s elite clubs competition.
The 2023/2024 UEFA Champions League group stage draw saw Manchester City set to square off against the likes of RB Leipzig, Young Boys, and Crvena Zvezda in Group G, while FC Copenhagen found themselves up against German champions Bayern Munich, English giants Manchester United and Turkish side Galatasaray in group A.
Manchester City kicked off their European title defense with a 3-1 win over Crvena Zvezda at the Etihad. Crvena Zvezda took the lead on the stroke of halftime after Osman Bukari found himself one-on-one with Ederson in the City goal, the Ghanaian kept his composure and fired his team into the lead. City came back meaning business after halftime as Julain Alvarez leveled matters two minutes into the second half, picking up a pass from Haaland and rounding the Crvena Zvezda goalkeeper Glazer before coolly slotting home.
Alvarez got his and City’s second in the 60th minute from a freekick as Red Star’s goalkeeper Glazer’s intended punch failed to make solid contact with the ball and it ended up in the back of the net before Rodri put the game to bed in the 73rd minute with a wonderful curling strike.
Manchester City’s toughest test in group G was expected to come in their second game of the group stages against German club side RB Leipzig but it turned out to be business as usual for the Citizens as they cruised to another 3-1 win. City got a well-deserved lead 25 minutes into the game after Phil Foden arrived late in the box to steer in Rico Lewis’ cutback. City were unable to add a second before halftime and were punished for it when Ikoma Lois Openda nudged an equalizer for RB Leipzig just after the restart, receiving a precise through pass from Poulsen and holding off his man before slotting the ball beyond Ederson’s reach. City’s second-half substitutes Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku came on to win the game for Pep Guardiola’s men, each scoring a goal and getting an assist to turn the tie back in favor of the Citizens.
Alvarez put City back in front in the 84th minute after scoring a beautiful curler from the edge of the box before Doku made sure in the 92nd minute, finishing off a devastating counterattack. Manchester City continued to impress throughout the group stages with back-to-back victories over Young Boys and further wins against Leipzig and Crvena Zvezda, recording an impressive 6 wins from 6 games.
Copenhagen kicked off their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign with a 2-2 draw against Turkish side Galatasaray at the Rams Global Stadium. Mohamed Elyounoussi put Copenhagen ahead inside thirty-five minutes of play, his beautiful chest control and volleyed effort beating Muslera in goal. Diogo Goncalves doubled Copenhagen’s lead in the 58th minute, coolly slotting home from just inside the box after receiving Birger Meling’s pull-back however, a second booking saw Elias Jalert sent off for the Danish side in the 73rd minute with Galatasaray taking advantage of their numbers on the pitch to snatch two late goals in quick succession to level the score at full time.
Sacha Body pulled one back for Galatasaray in the 86th minute rifling his shot past Copenhagen goalkeeper Grabara before second-half substitute Tete grabbed the equalizer in the 88th minute, his volley bouncing just in front of Grabara and into the bottom near corner.
Copenhagen faced Bayern Munich in their second group stage match of the UEFA Champions League and suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat despite giving a very good account of themselves against the German juggernauts. After a goalless first half, the match roared to life in the second when Copenhagen took a breakaway lead in the 55th minute as Luka Larega drilled a half-volley into the back of the net following a counterattack.
The Danish side was unable to protect their lead though as German wonderkid Jamal Musiala popped up with the equalizer in the 67th minute, crowning an impressive run with an equally impressive finish before two second-half substitutes in Thomas Müller and Mathys Tel combined to get the winner for Bayern as the former teed up the latter for an unchecked finish. Copenhagen suffered yet another narrow defeat, this time against Manchester United but their unbeaten end to the group stages comprising a 4-3 win against Manchester United, a 0-0 draw with Bayern and a 1-0 triumph over Galatasaray was enough to see them progress to the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League.
Head-to-head records show that Manchester City and FC Copenhagen have met four times in the past. Manchester City have emerged victors on two occasions (scoring 9 goals) while Copenhagen have never won against City, they have managed two draws (scoring 3 goals). Manchester City go into the 2nd leg with a 3-1 away win at Copenhagen on 13th February.
Match tickets
This exciting match-up at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester is set to kick off on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at 20:00 GMT.
The 53,400-capacity stadium is set to host this thrilling match-up.
Getting tickets for the Manchester City vs FC Copenhagen tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Manchester City adopt the positional style of play, looking to create numerical advantages in passing triangles or diamonds in the hope of progressing through the thirds. Injury worries include Grealish (muscle), Kevin de Bruyne (hamstring), and Josko Gvardial (ankle). Pep has the luxury of resting some players with the two goal advantage from leg 1.
Manchester City XI: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Akanji, Rodri, Kovacic, Doku, Silva, Foden, Alvarez
Copenhagen are brilliant with their build-up play and are a very exciting team to watch. Injury casualties for the Lions include Birger Meling (muscle), Davit Kocholava (knee), William Clem (broken leg), Khouma Babacar (injured)
Copenhagen XI: Grabara, Ankersen, Vavro, Diks, Jalert, Larega, Falk, Goncalves, Elyounoussi, Claesson, Achouri
Prediction
Judging by their excellent displays in the group stages, Manchester City should certainly have enough in their arsenal to dispatch this stubborn Copenhagen side particularly having prevailed 3-1 in the 1st leg away fixture.
Manchester City 5-0 Copenhagen