Firstly, the Red Devils and the Citizens are probably not on the same page. It seems as if City are more likely to crash out from the competition than their local rivals. A simple look into Mancini’s injury list and available squad could reveal it all.
The team will miss Lescott and Kompany in defence while Pablo Zabaleta and Gareth Barry will also not play due to injury. With these crucial absences, Manchester City may opt for an ultra-offensive approach. When you have players like Mario Balotelli and David Silva playing on a pitch in a must-win game, it’s normal to expect a generally good reaction.
However, the Citizens don’t only need to win at Eastlands against Sporting Lisbon on Thursday night. They need to claim nothing less than a 2-0 margin victory in 90 minutes of football or go through the process of extra-time. Anything else would mean disqualification.
Manchester City go into the match with a 12-0 record in terms of goals scored and goals conceded during their last four home encounters in all competitions. That’s a morale boosting record but should Sporting Lisbon be impressed?
The Portuguese contenders are on a great run under new manager Ricardo Sa Pinto. It could take Manchester City too much to force Sporting to their second defeat since the coach’s appointment in February.
The Citizens have lost twice on the trot during the past seven days. If they don’t bounce back against Sporting Lisbon in the Last 16 of the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League, they can forget about ending the season on a high. Dutch player Nigel de Jong knows this.
“Our main goal is the Premier League, that doesn't change. But we're still in the Europa League and for us, the only way we can succeed this season is to win one of the prizes,” he told Man City’s official website.
“After we won the FA Cup, everybody is hungry for more. That's how it has to be at this club, and we will be very disappointed if at the end of the day we have no trophies.”
Meanwhile, City’s local rivals, Manchester United, will play in unfamiliar grounds tonight. Can the Red
Devils deal with the tough atmosphere at San Mames? They certainly can, but will they?
Manchester United are not impressive in Europe this season so the pressure is on Alex Ferguson to motivate his blend of young and old players.
Athletic Bilbao’s advantage is too good to lose. The Spanish outfit will do all it takes to finish the business on home soil. After witnessing Napoli’s huge disappointment at the Bridge on Wednesday night, will Athletic Bilbao be tempted to play for nothing more than a draw?
Wayne Rooney was in formidable form last weekend and he could play the trick for his team. Interestingly, Athletic Bilbao are coming into the match with a defeat to Osasuna in La Liga on their back. That was Bilbao’s first loss in five matches.
Which teams deserve to reach the quarter-final stage of the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League? Manchester United and Manchester City are hoping to be present in Friday’s European draw…
Mar 15, 2012: Athletic Bilbao vs Manchester United
Mar 15, 2012: Manchester City vs Sporting CP Lisbon
For the full UEFA Europa League Last 16 second leg fixtures, visit our UEFA Europa League page.
