Manchester City’s malaise leaves the English champions in the unusual position of fretting over qualification for the knockout stage of the Champions League ahead of a trip to Italian giants Juventus on Dec 11.

City have won just once in their past nine games in all competitions, with an injury crisis and a loss of form for some of their biggest stars leading to the worst run of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career.

But despite a 4-1 humbling by Sporting Lisbon and an embarrassing collapse from 3-0 up to draw 3-3 against Feyenoord, they are still in a position to qualify from the new league-phase format.

They were 17th in the 36-team table before the round of fixtures on Dec 10, with a top-24 finish enough to secure a place in the play-off round.

However, their chances of direct entry to the last 16 by finishing in the top eight look slim, with another difficult trip to Paris Saint-Germain to come in January before a home game against Club Brugge.

The Champions League is even more significant for City this season with their Premier League title defence in tatters.

After an unprecedented four consecutive English top-flight titles, they are in fourth place, trailing Liverpool by eight points and having played a game more than Arne Slot’s men.

City have often hit top form down the home straight to win the league during Guardiola’s six title successes in the past seven seasons. But this time, the mood is different, with injuries among an ageing squad taking a heavy toll.

“The season starts difficult, it will be difficult all season,” said Guardiola after his side’s latest stumble in a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace on Dec 7.

“We have to survive the season, every game, try to take points, to try to win games and go forward.”

Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is the biggest miss and is unlikely to return again this season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in September.

John Stones, Nathan Ake, Mateo Kovacic and Oscar Bobb are also sidelined for the trip to Turin, while Kevin de Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Phil Foden are among the big names to have missed chunks of the campaign so far.

“If the squad is this short then it is always so difficult for all the players to play (every) three days,” said midfielder Bernardo Silva.

“With a squad of 20 players, if you only have 13 available, it is not good enough.”

City have little time to lick their wounds, with 12 games in 50 days between the Juventus clash and the end of the league phase on Jan 29.

“The doctors and physios are working incredible this season like never before but the reality is we have few players to rotate in this period,” added Guardiola.

“This season will be like this. Don’t feel sorry, accept the challenge and maybe at the end, we will have more satisfaction about the way we behave than in other seasons when we won the titles.”

The hope for City is that they could yet be Champions League contenders if their medical room empties and they find their customary form come during the decisive spell of the season.

Just one win from their final three games will almost certainly guarantee qualification.

All three of their opponents to come are below them in the table, with Juventus themselves on a four-game winless run and floundering in sixth place in Serie A.

City need to look back just two years for inspiration.

Defeats by Brentford, Southampton, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the winter months of the 2022-23 campaign had Guardiola questioning whether the hunger had gone from his squad.

A few months later, they lifted the treble, including the club’s only Champions League to date.

-AFP

 Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman is the poster boy tonight when the defending Champions Real Madrid hope to resurrect their thin quest for automatic qualification for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League as they take on Serie A leaders Atalanta. 

It will be a battle of the European champions this evening when the holders, Madrid visit the Gewiss Stadium to face the UEFA Europa League holders Atalanta.

Los Blancos have had a nightmare start to their Champions League title defence having lost three of their opening five matches in the competition, with their most recent defeat coming at Anfield where they were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool.

They currently sit in 24th spot in the Champions League table, with their hopes of automatic qualification for the knockout stages hanging by a thread, although they can take encouragement from their much-needed 3-0 victory over Girona on Saturday into their crucial match tonight.

Standing in their way now will be an Ademola Lookman-led Atalanta side who have been flying this season.

The Nigerian star has scored 10 goals and bagged five assists in 17 appearances in all competitions so far this season, and has formed a formidable partnership in the final third of the pitch with Charles De Ketelaere who boasts five goals and nine assists himself.

Having scored the winning goal for his side against Milan on Friday, Lookman will be carrying plenty of confidence into tonight’s match against Madrid in a bit to consolidate in the top-eight automatic finish at the end of this stage of the competition.

Gian Piero Gasperini‘s men are yet to be beaten in the Champions League this season and currently sit in fifth spot in the table having won three and drawn two of their opening five matches, proving Atalanta are indeed a side that can compete with Europe’s elite.

The two teams have already met this season when Real Madrid triumphed 2-0 over Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup courtesy of goals from Federico Valverde, and Kylian Mbappé, a result Madrid will be desperate to replicate on Match-day six.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr will miss his side’s Champions League clash at Liverpool on Wednesday after sustaining a leg muscle injury in their 3-0 LaLiga win at Leganes at the weekend, the Spanish club said on Monday.

Sources close to the player told Reuters that Vinicius is expected to be sidelined from three to four weeks. It means he could miss up to seven games in all competitions before the winter break, including against Girona and Athletic Bilbao in LaLiga and a Champions League visit to Atalanta.

“Following tests carried out today on our player Vini Jr by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with an injury to the biceps femoris in his left leg. Pending evolution,” Real said in a statement.

Vinicius is the latest to join the club’s lengthy injury list which includes key players like Rodrygo, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba.

Real are second in the LaLiga standings on 30 points, four behind Barcelona who drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo on Saturday.

However, after two losses in their last three games in the Champions League, Carlo Ancelotti’s side could be in trouble with a bad result at Anfield. They are 18th in the 36-team table with six points from four games.