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Villarreal welcome Manchester City to Spain in the third week of the Champions League, looking to cause an upset against the 2023 winners.
The Yellow Submarine are having a decent start to their season in LaLiga, sitting third in the table, but haven’t won a game in three games in all competitions (2L, 1D). That run started with their dramatic draw with Juventus in the Champions League, and most recently, they drew on the weekend 2-2 with Real Betis, squandering a 2-0 lead.
City are conversely on a fine run of form, unbeaten in eight and having won their last two. Last time out in the Champions League, City’s match also ended dramatically thanks to a late Eric Dier penalty equalising for Monaco at 2-2. On the weekend, they warmed up for this tie with a comfortable win against Everton and head to Spain full of confidence.
Below we have all the information on the Champions League match, so you don’t miss a thing.
Villarreal v Manchester City key information
• Date: Tuesday, September 21st
• Kick-off time: 20:00 BST
• Venue: El Madrigal, Villarreal
• Referee: Serdar Gözübüyuk
• VAR: Rob Dieperink
• TV channels: TNT Sports (UK)
• Odds: VIL (10/3) - DRAW (3/1) - MCI (7/10)
Villarreal team news
Marcelino has an almost fully fit squad to pick from when City come to town. Only Juan Foyth will be sidelined as he has been for the past five games with a muscle injury. Ex-Arsenal player Thomas Partey could start for Villarreal, and he is unbeaten in his last five matches against City. Another ex-Arsenal player, Nicolas Pépé, is one of the most creative players in Marcelino’s squad. He has created seven chances in two appearances for Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League this season, twice as many as any other player for the club.
Predicted line-up for Villarreal v Man City, (4-4-2)
Coach: Marcelino
Tenas; Mourino, Marin, Veiga, Pedraza; Buchanan, Parejo, Gueye, Comesana; Pepe, Mikautadze.
Man City team news
Earlier this week, Pep Guardiola said that he does not know when Rodri will return after the midfielder limped off just 22 minutes into the victory at Brentford. The 2024 men's Ballon d’Or winner has been blighted by injuries since his return from a long injury lay-off, starting one month into the previous campaign. He has joined Abdukodir Khusanov and Rayan Ait-Nouri on the injury list, but Ait-Nouri is back in training now.
Rayan Cherki finally returned to action for City on the weekend, getting six minutes against Everton. He will be hoping to get more minutes against Villarreal, as will Omar Marmoush, who was on the bench on Saturday, but did not join Cherki in getting minutes.
Villarreal will have their hands full stopping the inform Erling Haaland, who has scored eight in as many Champions League games against Spanish opposition, along with already netting 23 times for club and country so far this season in 13 games.
Predicted line-up for Man City v Villarreal, (4-1-4-1)
Coach: Pep Guardiola
Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Nico; Savinho, Reijnders, Foden, Doku; Haaland.
Where to watch on TV or live stream?
Villarreal v Manchester City will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK. To watch TNT Sports, you need to have a subscription to discovery+, and then you can watch all the action on the website, on the app, on your smart TV or through your console.
Head-to-head record
Villarreal will be trying to take heart from City’s record against Spanish teams. The Citizens have only won four of their 14 away games against Spanish teams in the UEFA Champions League, drawing six and losing seven.
The two teams have only met twice, coming in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2011-12. The English side won both fixtures in that edition, 2-1 at home before beating them 3-0 away.
City also come into this game in better form, being unbeaten in eight (6W, 2D), in comparison to Villareal, who have not won in their last three. In the Champions League specifically, Villarreal have one loss and one draw, whereas City have one win and one draw. Whilst a loss here for either team will not decide their campaign, winning is a nice habit to have.
Odds for Villarreal v Manchester City
Manchester City are the favourites at the bookies. At bet365, City are 7/10 to win, with Villarreal at 10/3. A draw is at 3/1.
Odds correct at time of writing, subject to change.