Manchester City host La Liga side Sevilla on Wednesday night, in what will be the club’s final Champions League game of the calendar year.
Having edged a gruelling encounter with Leicester City in their most recent fixture, Pep Guardiola’s side turn their focus to Sevilla, and the Catalan coach will be keen for his team to continue their good form when the La Liga side come to town.
The reigning Premier League champions have already secured top spot in Group G and with Sevilla having effectively guaranteed third place, the two sides have little to play for heading into Wednesday’s match.
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Owing to this, it is likely that Guardiola will take the opportunity to rotate his Manchester City squad and field some of the club’s fringe and younger players for a game that is a quintessential dead rubber.
However, whilst there is little to play for on-paper, both sides will head into the fixture hoping for a positive result, and ahead of Wednesday’s match, we have compiled a list of some insightful and interesting statistics, plus potential landmarks within reach.
Manchester City
• Manchester City are one of just five teams to remain undefeated in this year’s edition of the Champions League, alongside Bayern Munich, PSG and Benfica.
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• Joao Cancelo has recorded four Champions League assists this term - the joint-highest in the competition alongside Liverpool’s Diogo Jota.
• In the Champions League this season, Manchester City have averaged 65% possession per game - more than any other side in the competition.
• In the Premier League so far this season, Kevin De Bruyne is currently averaging 1.08 Big Chances Created per appearance, the highest across the division.
Sevilla
• Sevilla have scored 17 goals in all competitions throughout the current campaign - five fewer than Erling Haaland (22).
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• Youssef En-Nesyri is Sevilla’s top scorer in the Champions League this season (2).
• In the ongoing edition of the Champions League, Sevilla have conceded an average of 1.8 goals per game.
• Sevilla have made more tackles than any other side in the Champions League this season (85).
• Sevilla’s win percentage this term (all competitions) is a mere 17.65%. For reference, this is lower than the Premier League’s 20th place side Nottingham Forest’s current figure of 21.43%.
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Previous Meetings
- Wednesday’s fixture will see the two clubs meet for just the fourth time in history, and for just the second time throughout the reign of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
- Across the previous three encounters between the two sides, Manchester City have recorded an impressive average of three goals per game, have conceded just two goals, and impressively enjoy a 100% winning record against the Spanish outfit.
- The two sides most recently met in October of this year, in a match which saw the Premier League champions defeat Sevilla 4-0 thanks to goals from Erling Haaland (x2), Phil Foden and Ruben Dias.
Potential Landmarks
- Ruben Dias is in line to make his 100th start for the club, should he feature in Manchester City’s starting XI against Sevilla.
- Bernardo Silva is one goal away from 10 Champions League goals for Manchester City.
- Kevin De Bruyne is one assist shy of equaling Mesut Ozil and Marcelo’s Champions League assist tallies (24).
- Manchester City's next game will be their 5600th match in the club's entire history.
- Erling Haaland is three goals away from 25 in a Manchester City shirt.
Topics: Manchester City, Sevilla, Champions League, Premier League, La Liga, Football
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Brandon Evans