Manchester City return to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night to face Serie A side Atalanta in a Champions League match.
City will enter the match off the back of an impressive 2-0 victory away at Crystal Palace on Saturday. Guardiola’s side reacted from the shock 2-0 loss at home to Wolves before the international break with a fluid attacking display, Gabriel Jesus showing his class at Selhurst Park in place of Sergio Aguero.
The Citizens should have their confidence back ahead of facing Atalanta. They are comfortably top of Group C after two matches, having scored five goals, keeping clean sheets in both games.
Atalanta, meanwhile, drew 3-3 with Lazio on Saturday in an end to end game. The Italian side have so far lost both group games convincingly and have only found the net once in Europe this season.
Where to Watch
| When Is Kick Off? | Tuesday 22nd October |
| What Time Is Kick Off? | 20:00 (BST) |
| Where Is It Played? | Etihad Stadium |
| TV Channel/Live Stream? | BT Sport 2 |
| Referee? | Orel Grinfeld |
Team News
City are still struggling in defence, with Aymeric Laporte on the comeback trail and Nicolas Otamendi also missing. However, John Stones returned for 20 minutes against Palace and could start in the back four on Tuesday, allowing Rodrigo to move back into midfield.
For Atalanta, the only confirmed absentee is David Zapata. Russian midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi is an injury doubt but may return in time to make the squad. Up front, Atalanta will be relying on Luis Muriel to cause problems for the makeshift City defence.
Predicted Lineups
| Manchester City | Ederson; Cancelo, Fernandinho, Stones, Mendy; Rodrigo, Gündogan, De Bruyne; Sterling, Agüero, B. Silva. |
| Atalanta | Gollini; Toloi, Palomino, Masiello; Castagne, Pasalic, De Roon, Gosens; Gomez; Ilicic, Muriel. |
Head to Head Record
This will be the first time the two teams have met in European competition. The last time City faced Italian opposition in Europe was against Napoli during the CL group stage during the 2017/18 season. City won both matches, triumphing 2-1 at the Etihad before a 4-2 victory in Naples.
This is the first time Atalanta have reached the Champions League. However, they are no strangers to Europe, having featured in the Europa League in the two previous seasons.
Recent Form
City have struggled recently, having suffered injuries to first choice centre back Aymeric Laporte and back-up Nicolas Otamendi. Despite the improvised back four, City have still won four of their last five games.
Atalanta also find themselves in strong form, with three wins from their last five, including an impressive 2-0 win away at Roma and a 4-1 thumping away at Sassuolo.
However, despite the positives they will be disappointed to find themselves without a point in their Champions League campaign, their most recent defeat being a 2-1 loss at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.
| Manchester City | Atalanta |
| Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City (19/10) | Lazio 3-3 Atalanta (19/10) |
| Manchester City 0-2 Wolves (6/10) | Atalanta 3-1 Lecce (6/10) |
| Manchester City 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb (1/10) | Atalanta 1-2 Shakhtar Donetsk (1/10) |
| Everton 1-3 Manchester City (28/9) | Sassuolo 1-4 Atalanta 28/9) |
| Preston 0-3 Manchester City (24/9) | Roma 0-2 Atalanta (25/9) |
Prediction
City should expect to run out comfortable winners here. Atalanta, despite clearly being a danger in attack, are unlikely to cause their hosts too many problems, especially if Stones is fit enough to start the game.
With Sergio Aguero likely to start the game as well, he should be confident of causing problems and picking up a goal or two.
Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Atalanta
Source : 90min