Manchester City toughing it out in Moscow, Barcelona looking to bounce back from PSG defeat and Chelsea hosting NK Maribor…
CSKA Moscow vs Manchester City
City have yet to hit their stride in Europe with one point from a possible six being the sum total of their worth thus far. Their opening day defeat to Bayern could easily be put down to negative tactics which were deployed throughout.
However, their disappointing home draw against Roma can only be attributed to a lack of cutting edge and a bad choice of footwear by Joe Hart. They’ll be hoping to get back on track when they face a stubborn CSKA behind closed doors in Moscow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S_D7puL9w0
Clip via: UEFA
You would think the ban on fans being present would help City, however Bayern were only able to take a point under identical circumstances. The Russian side were hammered by Roma in Italy in their first game, but they are an entirely different entity while at home.
Sergio Aguero was outstanding when City dismantled Spurs at the weekend and he’ll have to be in similar form if they’re going to take anything from this difficult encounter.
Barcelona v Ajax
Barcelona are another side who are struggling to translate their impressive domestic form into Europe. They lost to PSG in their last game and were poor in victory against APOEL on match day one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UksjN4EZvc
Clip via: Football Highlights Television
Ajax will be relatively happy from their own start in this year’s tournament with two draws from two games. However, Barcelona were excellent against Eibar at the weekend and will be looking for redemption after their loss against PSG.
We’re predicting a large victory for Barca.
Chelsea v Maribor
Chelsea’s early season form has been frightening. They’ve been winning for fun and knocking in a ridiculous amount of goals for good measure.
They’ll be missing top goal scorer Diego Costa for this game, but that shouldn’t matter too much considering the form Cesc Fabregas is in. Maribor have been solid in this season’s tournament with two draws, but JOE reckons this might just be one step too far for the Slovenians.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt89ZVEfXV8
Clip via: Football Highlights Television
We expect Chelsea to win this one easily and Loic Remy to prove that he is a decent deputy for the injured Costa.
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