SWISS GUARD
Jose’s men can expect pitch battle
STEVE McMANAMAN insists the heat is on his old club Manchester City – and their Spanish supercoach Pep Guardiola – to conquer Europe.
The Premier League winners crashed out at the quarter-final stage last season, dumped out by Liverpool.
But if Jurgen Klopp’s main concern this season is to bring a first Premier League trophy to Merseyside, Guardiola’s priority is very much to lead City to continental glory.
It is now seven years since he won the most prestigious club competition in football
– with the mighty Barcelona in 2011.
And according to McManaman that means the focus ahead of City’s opening group clash against Lyon is on whether Guardiola will deliver in his third season at The Etihad. The ex-City
MANCHESTER UNITED have been warned they can expect a pitch battle in Bern.
Young Boys, United’s Champions League opponents in Switzerland’s capital on Wednesday, play on a synthetic surface.
And their highly rated midfielder Djibril Sow believes the artificial pitch could prove to be a leveller.
The Swiss international, 21, said: “When you are used to playing on our pitch, there is a big advantage.
“Manchester United are a big team and they have great technical players but I hope the pitch will make a big difference.
“We’re big underdogs but we will try to give our best and our pitch is a plus for us and we will do anything to win.
“It will be a big game in our stadium.
We have never been in the Champions League so the atmosphere will be intense. All our fans are looking forward to it. We are in a tough group – of course we are – but I would rather have a group with such great teams because you can learn a lot from these games and these players. “You don’t try to qualify for the Champions League to play against small teams. It was a boyhood dream to go to Old Trafford and play against big teams like Manchester United and Juventus.”
Sow added: “United have been struggling a bit in the league this season so I hope that gives us more of a chance. But they have plenty of big names to trouble us.”
One of those United big names is Marcus Rashford (left), who Sow saw at close quarters at Leicester on Tuesday as part of the Swiss squad, and he said: “He is a great player, but that was England and Manchester United are a different team.”