Manchester City vs FC Copenhagen (UEFA Champions League Last-16 Second-Leg): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch

Manchester City welcome Copenhagen to the Etihad Stadium for a last-16 second-leg tie in the Champions League, just days after painting Manchester blue for the second time this season.

The Champions League returns after almost a month since a first-leg tie in Denmark that saw Manchester City win 1-3 at Parken. Since that fixture, Pep Guardiola’s side have played five games and secured four wins, including a fantastic 3-1 victory against Manchester United.

That affair started off exactly as expected; City dominating possession and looking to control the game, just as we’ve become accustomed to under Pep Guardiola. Across the course of the match, this didn’t change as the home side finished with almost three-quarters of the total possession.

Yet, the derby was a story for homegrown talent. Wythenshawe-raised Marcus Rashford gave the red side of Manchester something to cheer about as he lashed in a rocket from 25 yards out. Ultimately though, that was all United fans had to celebrate as their team put in a dismal performance on the whole.

Stockport-born, boyhood Blue, Phil Foden silenced the away end as he too, like England teammate Marcus Rashford, scored a sensational strike and doubled his tally to move City into the lead. Closing out the game, Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland pounced on a mistake by Sofyan Amrabat to seal the result.

Pep Guardiola’s team come into their meeting with Copenhagen in almost perfect form. Defeats have been few and far between this season for the Premier League champions, with their last defeat coming back in December at the hands of Aston Villa.

Now, City will try to avoid an upset against the current third-placed Danish Superliga side and progress to the next round of the UEFA Champions League on their quest to defend the title they claimed in Istanbul, Turkey last summer.

Considering the strengths of both squads, the expectation will be that Manchester City get through this game unscathed – a contest that we have compiled all of the details below for your reading pleasure!

Fixture Details

The UEFA Champions League last-16 second-leg meeting between Manchester City and FC Copenhagen will take place on Wednesday 6^th March with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 GMT.

Team News

Manchester City can boast an almost fully-fit squad for the clash with Copenhagen this week, with only one confirmed absentee noted by Pep Guardiola during his pre-match press conference.

It was declared during Guardiola’s discussion with the media, it was confirmed that that English winger Jack Grealish will not be ready for Wednesday’s clash, going on to state that he also doesn’t know when City’s number 10 will return to action.

A surprising addition to the treatment table emerged during the open section of Manchester City’s training ground activity, with Jeremy Doku absent from the session with no developments or details on his fitness.

Head to Head

These two giants of their respective countries have gone face-to-face a total of five times in their histories, with the first meeting taking in 2009. However, it is the Manchester-based side who are unbeaten in all five of such fixtures.

On 19^th February 2009, in the first match between the two teams, Manchester City travelled to Denmark in the old UEFA Cup competition with the scoreline finishing 2-2. Nedum Onuoha and Stephen Ireland were on the scoresheet that evening.

In recent times, the reverse fixture in Denmark finished 1-3 to Pep Guardiola’s side. An early Kevin De Bruyne goal gave the Citizens the lead before Magnus Mattsson equalised for the hosts. On the brink of half-time, Bernardo Silva put Manchester City ahead with a delicate lift over Kamil Grabara, before Phil Foden sealed the victory moments before full-time.

Statistics

• Manchester City are unbeaten in all fixtures against FC Copenhagen.
• The last match between these sides at the Etihad Stadium finished 5-0 to Manchester City
• FC Copenhagen have never won in England in a European competition, drawing twice and losing five times in seven attempts.
• This will be FC Copenhagen’s fourth match in the knockout stages of the Champions League and they’re winless in the previous three before Wednesday’s clash.
• Manchester City have won nine games on the bounce in this competition. If they win on Wednesday, they could become just the 3^rd team to win ten or more in a row.
• Pep Guardiola has advanced from all nine of his previous two-legged ties in this competition when his team have won the first leg away from home.
• Phil Foden is having his best season in the Champions League this year. He has been involved in seven goals this campaign with four goals and three assists.

How to Watch

For fans in the United Kingdom, you can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1.

For fans in the United States, the tie will be aired live on CBS and Paramount+, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 EST.

For fans living elsewhere, you can find the complete TV listings here!

As always, City Xtra will be hosting a live WatchAlong for City fans to follow the match and discuss ongoings. This will be available on the City Xtra YouTube channel!