Our prediction for this Champions League match:
Man City
Match Time & Date:
19/09/2023
12:00 PM
Prediction: 5-1
Crvena Zvezda
Manchester City play host to Crvena Zvezda at their Etihad Stadium in a David-vs-Goliath Champions League opener. The Citizens want to start their title defence in style and we are positive that they will go all guns blazing at the Serbian champions. As always, a man to watch in the home team will be Norway superstar Erling Haaland, who got his name on the scoresheet in a come-from-behind 3-1 win over West Ham United at the weekend. Kevin De Bruyne remains in the recovery room, while all Jack Grealish, Mateo Kovacic, and John Stones are major doubts.
The Red and Whites, on the other hand, suffered a shocking 2-1 loss to Cukaricki in the Serbian top flight and it seems as if summer signings have yet to adapt to the new surroundings. Anyhow, Barak Bakhar’s troops will have a mountain to climb against the Champions League trophy hopefuls. All Milos Degenek, Stefan Mitrovic, Osman Bukari, and Jean-Philippe Krasso should be recalled to the starting XI after they were rested in the last league match.
Highlighted Player (Nathan Ake):
Ake is a professional footballer who plays for the Dutch National Team and AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The versatile defender who was born on the 18th of February, 1995, started his youth career in 2003 with local club ADO Den Haag. He then moved to Feyenoord in 2007 before joining Chelsea's youth academy four years later.
Ake made his first professional appearance at the age of 17, playing for the Blues in a 0-1 away victory against Norwich on the 26th of December, 2012. Barring a few starts and substitute appearances, Ake spent his next few years at Chelsea mostly in the reserves before being sent out on a one month loan to Reading in 2015. Upon his return, he immediately joined Watford on a season-long loan where his displays earned him the Watford's young player of the season award. Another successful loan spell at Bournemouth succeeded his time at Watford before Chelsea recalled him in January 2017.
At the start of the 17/18 season, the 24-year-old rejoined his current club Bournemouth permanently on a five-year contract worth 20 million pounds. On the International stage, Ake has represented the Netherlands at every youth level and has even captained the under-17 and under-19 sides. He made his first senior appearance on the 31st of May, 2017, featuring in Hollands 2-1 friendly win over Morocco.
Highlighted Team (Crvena Zvezda):
Crvena Zvezda are the most famous club in Balkans. The Crveno-beli have 19 Yugoslav First League titles and have won eight domestic trophies since the breakup of Yugoslavia. Crvena Zvezda won their last league title in the 2015/2016 season, with the team finishing the campaign no less than 28 points clear of Partizan.
Speaking of Partizan, the Crno-beli are considered Crvena Zvezda’s bitterest rivals and the two teams meet in the “Eternal derby” (Veciti derbi). The capital club did well to win the European Cup title in 1991, with the team beating Olympique Marseile on penalties in the title game. That is considered the club’s biggest success, but it has to be noted that the Serbian club won the International Cup later in 1991. Crvena Zvezda outclassed Colo Colo of Chile (3-0) at National Stadium in Tokyo.
The likes of Dejan Savicevic, Vladimir Jugovic, Dragan Stojkovic, Dragoslav Sekularac, Rajko Mitic, Dusan Savic, Nemanja Vidic and Dejan Stankovic are some of the famous footballers who played for Crvena Zvezda in the past.
Leicester
Chelsea
Arsenal
Nottingham Forest
Aston Villa
Crystal Palace 
Milan 
Juventus 
Tottenham
Celta Vigo 
Barcelona 
