Manchester City eye Galatasaray and European progress

Loyal Manchester City fans are used to the buzz and speculation surrounding the Etihad Stadium as the club have long been gold dust for those in the press and media, and Pep Guardiola’s recent captures of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi has launched the side into the headlines.

With Guardiola’s rebuild of his first team squad options during the last summer window – and whilst there have been a few teething problems in the opening half of the campaign as new faces settle in to life at the club, the country and a new style of play – City are hitting the business end of the campaign in a very good place. And a touch more consistency would go a long way in the chase for the Premier League title.

With 46 points so far and in second place in the Premier League table, City are just four points shy of Arsenal – who currently occupy top spot. And if the last few games are anything to go by, it seems Mikel Arteta’s side have slowly started their annual demise and have begun ‘bottling it’ once again.

Many punters who use free spins at an online gaming casino do so to get a feel for games and improve their chances of success, but Manchester City have been here before and do not need to gamble because they know what it takes to close a gap when it counts.

Manchester City fans will undoubtedly be keeping a very close eye on that whilst they gear up for the upcoming Champions League league phase clash with Turkish side Galatasaray and transfer deadline day to see whether there is another late arrival to bolster Guardiola’s options for the next few months.

Following on from the shock and wildly unexpected defeat to Bodo/Glimt on an unusual pitch and in chilly conditions, City simply have to beat their next European opponents.

Sat in 11th place in the Champions League’s league table, Manchester City are one of eight sides who have racked up 13 points and the competition has been competitive so far, with only three points separating third from 15th.

A top eight place remains doable when you consider potential results elsewhere, and City will not only be confident of achieving just that, but also going further through the competition rounds despite their difficulties so far.

For Galatasaray there is also a small reunion at play for Manchester City. Both Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan now ply their trade for the Turkish giants, and it is fully expected they will be involved in the game in some capacity.

There will be other familiar faces in their squad as well as Davinson Sanchez, Lucas Torreira, Mario Lemina and Gabriel Sara are all involved in their first team set up.

This will understandably make it a tough game, and their knowledge of English football means they are unbeaten in their last four clashes against English opponents, but there is more than enough in the City side to take victory and that will be what the majority are expecting.