Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini will be looking for his team to record a Champions League victory over Bayern Munich
Manchester City are in a perilous position going into match day five of the Champions League.
The English champions host German giants Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night knowing that nothing but a win will do to keep alive their hopes of qualification for the knockout stages.
Trouble
Incredibly City have taken just two points from their four Champions League matches so far this season.
Their under par European campaign so far sees them sitting bottom of Group E, a massive ten points behind Bayern, who have already won the group courtesy of four straight victories.
Luckily for City the two other teams in the group Roma and CSKA Moscow are just two points ahead of the Citizens. The Italian and Russia side meet in the other game of the night in Moscow, with stakes now massive. If City fail to win and that game does not end level, then City will be eliminated.
Disappointing
To say that City have underperformed in Europe this season would be a major understatement. The most disappointing results so far have to have been the 2-2 draw in Moscow, when they were two goals up and the 2-1 home defeat by CSKA.
The Russian side were supposed to be the weakest of the four teams in the group, but have somehow managed to earn all of their four points from their two games with City. The Russians now have a really big chance to qualify and it is the Citizens who are the outsiders.
The best performance of City’s campaign so far was arguably in the 1-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena against Bayern. The City rear-guard held firm until a very late Jerome Boateng goal won the game for the Bavarians.
It has not really got much better for City since then, with draws in Moscow and at home to Roma the only points collected from their four group games. Everybody at the club must be wondering where it has all gone wrong.
Formation
A lot is made of formations and tactics these days, sometimes too much, but Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini’s insistence on playing with two strikers in the Champions League is sheer footballing suicide against the better teams in Europe.
It is good to be positive and play your own game, but you also have to realise that very few teams in the modern game play with two up front, so that means that a lot of teams have five in midfield.
When City play with two up front, it means that their midfield two are usually outnumbered, which has contributed to City dropping points in this competition this season. Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure was one of the stars of last season in the Premier League.
However, when the former-Barcelona star is asked to play in a central partnership seems to struggle. He is far more effective when given a license to roam up field and drive at opposition.
Considering he was regarded as a defensive midfielder at Barca, he is very poor at tracking back and helping his backline out. I have a feeling that City boss Pellegrini will be playing with five in midfield against the German champions. If he does not then the Bayern midfield are likely to take control of the game.
Difficult
Bayern Munich will be very difficult opponents. Die Bayern have won all of their games so far in the competition and are unlikely to take their foot off the gas, even with the group already won.
Bayern boss Pep Guardiola demands the players best in every game and if they are at their best against City then the Citizens are unlikely to claim the victory that they need.
City have not won a Champions League game in six attempts, but ironically their last win in the competition came against Bayern in December of 2013.
Betting
On current form it is hard to see Manchester City gaining the victory that they so desperately need. However, if the City players turn up and play to the best of their ability they may just keep alive their slim chances of making the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Will Manchester City defeat Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium?
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