Juventus vs Manchester City

It will be two teams that come into the match with expectations lacking which will come out when Juventus and Manchester City clash in the Champions League Wednesdays evening.

With the exception of two teams occupying almost similar places in the league-phase table, Juventus have been impeccable in their ability to fail to convert one point into three this season whereas Manchester City are going through a crisis of confidence.

Raising speculations of an era of dominance coming to an end, Manchester City’s recent Champions League match up saw the team throw away a three-goal lead at the last twentieth of the match played on their own turf against Feyenoord.

After their 4-1 loss to Sporting CP in Lisbon it has further extended the series that was several weeks in making and the English Premier League holders are arguably facing their worst stretch of the season under Pep Guardiola.

Not only have City conceded seven goals in their two most recent European market fixtures while having registered three shutouts in their first three this season but they have taken only a point from those two games, which means they currently have eight total points and are sitting in a playoff position.

Through to 2023, they have gone to the knock-out stages in each of the last 11 seasons, their group winners for the last seven successive years; now, however, Guardiola must focus on the task of arriving at the last 24 without malfunction for Manchester City.

After another domestic defeat on the weekend City came back twice from behind to earn a draw away to struggling Premier League side Crystal Palace, with Rico Lewis equalising for the second time at Selhurst Park only to be sent off shortly thereafter.

The Citizens, therefore, arrive in Italy having won only one of their last nine games across all competitions, and they will be keen on not setting an unwanted record on Wednesday night.

Although this is the first time City has met the Bianconeri under Guardiola, their current five-match winless streak against them is tied for the longest against any opponent in UEFA competition.

Juventus has been undefeated against their next visitors, winning three times and drawing twice since the clubs' first meeting in 1976.

However, like City, Juventus is in a precarious position in the Champions League standings this season after winning both of their opening two games and only earning a few points from their following three.

Thiago Motta's team played out stalemates with Lille and Aston Villa last month after suffering their first—and still only—loss of the 2024–25 season against Stuttgart.

The two-time European champions dropped further behind in Serie A and are currently seven points behind the leaders after yet another stalemate last weekend, their 19th in the league since the year began.

They were very lucky to escape their first defeat on Saturday, as they had to rally from a two-goal deficit to draw with Bologna at home. Teun Koopmeiners cut the deficit before replacement Samuel Mbangula equalized in the 92nd minute.

With just 10 goals allowed and 10 clean sheets from 15 games thus far, the Turin giants can still claim Serie A's finest defensive record, even though it now stands at four straight draws across all competitions and seven in the last nine.

Pep Guardiola will be hoping to have Phil Foden back at his disposal in midweek, despite Manchester City's frustratingly lengthy injury list. The England star missed the stalemate with Crystal Palace because of bronchitis.

In the meantime, Matheus Nunes has scored three goals in his previous three games, which is two more than any of his colleagues have this season. Guardiola could utilize the Portuguese midfielder, who was previously a little-used part of the team, once more.

A couple of Juventus' regulars have just left the team's crowded medical room. Star striker Dusan Vlahovic made his debut on Saturday after missing three weeks due to a thigh injury, while Nicolo Savona also made his comeback.