UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Season

[makishart]

De Bruyne is a key player obviusly but i think Manchester City can sub him very well, in fact i really think this injury helped Manchester City thinking in the future of the team. Now they know they can play very good without him, so we can some news in the next summer transfers window.

Kevin has high-level game intelligence. Maybe Manchester City can replace him, but I don't know if they can be as productive as him. I think Manchester City should keep Kevin in their squad for a longer time. They can still benefit from it.

Bruyne has long term contract with manchester city. The club is really need him at this moment yet his injury is the problem now. There is currently no estimated time of arrival for his return from injury, and we eagerly await the opportunity to see him playing alongside Manchester City again.
There is a large number of individuals eagerly anticipating his return, however, even medical professionals are unable to provide a definite timeline for Kevin De Bruyne's comeback from his injury. Bruyne is not only producing a lot of goals but he was making a lot of assists as well.
Manchester city probably has a plan to extend his contract in the club. Bellingham, who is currently playing for Real Madrid, was being reminded to me by De Bruyne.
Bruyne is also having an instinct to play as good as striker in scoring the goals as well.

[borovichok]

De Bruyne is a key player obviusly but i think Manchester City can sub him very well, in fact i really think this injury helped Manchester City thinking in the future of the team. Now they know they can play very good without him, so we can some news in the next summer transfers window.

Manchester City was not competitive due to the absence of key players, until they appointed Pep Guardiola in 2016/2017 EPL campaign, Pep is widely recognized as aggressive coach that has full ambition for the team to become great. He doesn't lack the full tendency but always curious about the performance of his team, ensuring for placing alternatives options in situations were the intended primary ones failed.  Kelvin De Bruyne is injured and has not been with Manchester City for months now, probably might return in January because he's gradually making some vital recoveries, most football lovers can't wait for Kelvin De Bruyne to start games on the pitch for the Citizens.

[Tipeform$]

De Bruyne is a key player obviusly but i think Manchester City can sub him very well, in fact i really think this injury helped Manchester City thinking in the future of the team. Now they know they can play very good without him, so we can some news in the next summer transfers window.

Manchester City was not competitive due to the absence of key players, until they appointed Pep Guardiola in 2016/2017 EPL campaign, Pep is widely recognized as aggressive coach that has full ambition for the team to become great. He doesn't lack the full tendency but always curious about the performance of his team, ensuring for placing alternatives options in situations were the intended primary ones failed.  Kelvin De Bruyne is injured and has not been with Manchester City for months now, probably might return in January because he's gradually making some vital recoveries, most football lovers can't wait for Kelvin De Bruyne to start games on the pitch for the Citizens.

Always if the coach is experienced then definitely the team goes towards higher status. Although Manchester City Club is the center of discussion at the moment, they are also strong in terms of playing power. So I would like to say that an experienced coach must be appointed so that Manchester club can be in a fast position for the future. In the current position, the defensive department and the attacking department are both strong, but due to lack of proper monitoring, Manchester City Club cannot go and attack at the right time. So it is important to appoint a course as a proper consultant from outside.

[Nerdy doctor]

Bruyne has long term contract with manchester city. The club is really need him at this moment yet his injury is the problem now. There is currently no estimated time of arrival for his return from injury, and we eagerly await the opportunity to see him playing alongside Manchester City again.
There is a large number of individuals eagerly anticipating his return, however, even medical professionals are unable to provide a definite timeline for Kevin De Bruyne's comeback from his injury. Bruyne is not only producing a lot of goals but he was making a lot of assists as well.
Manchester city probably has a plan to extend his contract in the club. Bellingham, who is currently playing for Real Madrid, was being reminded to me by De Bruyne.
Bruyne is also having an instinct to play as good as striker in scoring the goals as well.

I had earlier read it in an article that he is expected to be out for about four months. That’s a pretty long time for Manchester City to go without him but they seem not to be missing him all that much as they’ve been managing just fine so far.
A lot of supporters are praying for a speedy recovery and a much anticipated return back to the team. He is a valuable player and has been instrumental in a lot of Manchester City goals and wins in their games.
He need not worry much. His teammates are in the very capable hands of Pep and are doing okay.

[Hanadawa]

He need not worry much. His teammates are in the very capable hands of Pep and are doing okay.

It is very sad that De Bruyne was only able to complete 1 match in the League this season and had to be replaced due to injury. I can say that currently there is no player who can play a role as good as De Bruyne as a tempo maker for City's game in the middle of the field. Even though you have a striker like a goal machine like Haaland, without sufficient ball distribution it will be difficult for Haaland to repeat his extraordinary performance last season.

As you said, his teammates are fine but the problem is that the 2 defeats City have suffered at the start of the season will slightly hinder their chances of winning the title. I'm not saying City can't win the League, it's just that this time it won't be as smooth as the previous season.

[FanEagle]

It is guaranteed in my mind that Napoli and Real Madrid will go up, the other teams Berlin and Braga do not look like they have a single chance of going up, some groups are like that, the top two is already decided in my brain. Like group G for example, Leipzig and City should be going up, there is a very small chance Young Boys and that other team could go as second normally and in my brain it's zero.

Let's see how the group stages will end, it looks like it's close enough after tow games for many groups, and we need to see how they will do overall, I know that it will be hard but we should be getting some good results one way or another, and the last 16 will be very fun. Seeing different clubs there at times is great, sure there are still names we all know that will be there, but some of the teams will be rare to see.

[TastyChillySauce00]

De Bruyne is a key player obviusly but i think Manchester City can sub him very well, in fact i really think this injury helped Manchester City thinking in the future of the team. Now they know they can play very good without him, so we can some news in the next summer transfers window.

Manchester City was not competitive due to the absence of key players, until they appointed Pep Guardiola in 2016/2017 EPL campaign, Pep is widely recognized as aggressive coach that has full ambition for the team to become great. He doesn't lack the full tendency but always curious about the performance of his team, ensuring for placing alternatives options in situations were the intended primary ones failed.  Kelvin De Bruyne is injured and has not been with Manchester City for months now, probably might return in January because he's gradually making some vital recoveries, most football lovers can't wait for Kelvin De Bruyne to start games on the pitch for the Citizens.

Rodri may be coming back in upcoming weeks but manchester city needs to play without him for serveral weeks started from the match against arsenal. Losing him gave very big impact to the manchester city. I never expected that if rodri will be doing serious foul against nottingham forest.
Im not mentioning de bruyne caused by he will out for months, rodri will become the only hope owned by manchester city. His power really needed by the club at this moment. Losing him gave very big impact to the performance of manchester city.
I hope de bruyn will be back later but pep shall have focused into the how to build a proper attack without rodri and kdb. Many people have criticized how manchester city is declining so hard after the club was losing haaland and rodri.

In fact, these players are always contributing a lot in any season under city's shirt. No doubt if losing them all made great impact to the manchester city.
Pep has been lining up some players from another club to be recruited as backup once they will be out. Pep needs to make sure the replacement will have same quality as them. That's why dani olmo already targeted by pep at this moment.
There are also many clubs aiming to get him from leipzig. I hope pep will do something to save city.

[mamesso]

De Bruyne is a key player obviusly but i think Manchester City can sub him very well, in fact i really think this injury helped Manchester City thinking in the future of the team. Now they know they can play very good without him, so we can some news in the next summer transfers window.

Manchester City was not competitive due to the absence of key players, until they appointed Pep Guardiola in 2016/2017 EPL campaign, Pep is widely recognized as aggressive coach that has full ambition for the team to become great. He doesn't lack the full tendency but always curious about the performance of his team, ensuring for placing alternatives options in situations were the intended primary ones failed.  Kelvin De Bruyne is injured and has not been with Manchester City for months now, probably might return in January because he's gradually making some vital recoveries, most football lovers can't wait for Kelvin De Bruyne to start games on the pitch for the Citizens.

There can be no doubt, one of the reasons for Manchester City success in recent years is the influence of Guardiola who is able to manage the team well. Guardiola experience in managing big teams and his ingenuity in formulating strategies have made Manchester City successful in winning its first UCL trophy. This season, Guardiola has had a few problems in managing Manchester City due to the absence of key players who have contributed greatly to the team. Guardiola as manager certainly really wants the players who have been his mainstay to remain fit, but player injuries can come at any time.

Guardiola must be able to maintain Manchester City's quality at a high level even without the presence of several core players. Manchester City still has several other top players in the midfield position, Guardiola can rely on them even without Kevin De Bruyne. However, the quality of Kevin De Bruyne play has helped the team a lot so far, Guardiola really misses his presence back in the Manchester City squad.

[ancafe]

I think that Kevin De Bruyne's absence will be felt even more in the Champions League. I mean that the group stage is comfortable for them of course as they don't have very tough opponents. But when they face title contenders in the later stages they would feel the absence of him surely.

Because there has been a really great cooperation between him and Erling Haaland especially. He has been creating so many goal chances for Haaland so far. He is an amazing player with his passes and impressive shots as well. Foden is trying to make up for De Bruyne but their playing styles are very different. Foden is more selfish than De Bruyne.

The absence of Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri will clearly affect Manchester City when playing in the Champions League and this has even been felt since they lost several matches in the English league. But for the Group Phase, it looks like Manchester City is still quite safe because they are facing a team that is far below their quality they. Only RB Leipzig has the ability to play more evenly in terms of player quality but Manchester City managed to beat them at RB Leipzig's home ground. So there is no other team in the group that can play more evenly and I am sure Manchester City will come out as group winners.

De Bruyne's ability has a big effect on the forward players because he has the ability to provide assists to strikers and what's even more amazing is that he also has an instinct for scoring goals. De Bruyne is also better than Foden and it is true as you say because these two players are different and De Bruyne is not selfish like Foden because he always makes the right decisions.

[SeriouslyGiveaway]

It is very sad that De Bruyne was only able to complete 1 match in the League this season and had to be replaced due to injury. I can say that currently there is no player who can play a role as good as De Bruyne as a tempo maker for City's game in the middle of the field. Even though you have a striker like a goal machine like Haaland, without sufficient ball distribution it will be difficult for Haaland to repeat his extraordinary performance last season.

Haaland hardly had a chance to shine when De Bruyne was absent. He's got a hefty role at Man City, but his form seems to be slipping due to repeated injuries. Fortunately, Mancity has Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden, although they haven't reached De Bruyne's level. Still, their current form offers some comfort to Mancity fans.

I like everyone's confidence in Manchester City, as anything can happen. If their group exit is already clear, then at any stage further on they can face any team that can beat them. So far, I myself believe that MC can repeat last season's success this season, because they look just as good as ever

Mancity remains a formidable team, but repeating last season's success won't be easy. I think the best they can hope for is winning the Premier League.

[len01]

De Bruyne is a key player obviusly but i think Manchester City can sub him very well, in fact i really think this injury helped Manchester City thinking in the future of the team. Now they know they can play very good without him, so we can some news in the next summer transfers window.

Manchester City was not competitive due to the absence of key players, until they appointed Pep Guardiola in 2016/2017 EPL campaign, Pep is widely recognized as aggressive coach that has full ambition for the team to become great. He doesn't lack the full tendency but always curious about the performance of his team, ensuring for placing alternatives options in situations were the intended primary ones failed.  Kelvin De Bruyne is injured and has not been with Manchester City for months now, probably might return in January because he's gradually making some vital recoveries, most football lovers can't wait for Kelvin De Bruyne to start games on the pitch for the Citizens.

decline in Man City performance is more dominant in the problem of players who are injured and unable to appear on the field with their team and De Bruyne absence has had a big impact on Man City performance because all of this has been arranged in such a way as possible by Guardiola so that the team becomes stronger but the weakness is in composition. If the player is damaged or there is player injury, it will certainly have big impact because as I said earlier, everything has been arranged competitively by Guardiola and I will not worry about this problem because Guardiola is very experienced and has also really studied various player characters and he is currently looking for a temporary player who has very high quality talent to replace De Bruyne and the reason for temporarily replacing De Bruyne is because Guardiola is still very enthusiastic about getting another UCL title.

[bering]

Rodri may be coming back in upcoming weeks but manchester city needs to play without him for serveral weeks started from the match against arsenal. Losing him gave very big impact to the manchester city. I never expected that if rodri will be doing serious foul against nottingham forest.
Im not mentioning de bruyne caused by he will out for months, rodri will become the only hope owned by manchester city. His power really needed by the club at this moment. Losing him gave very big impact to the performance of manchester city.
I hope de bruyn will be back later but pep shall have focused into the how to build a proper attack without rodri and kdb. Many people have criticized how manchester city is declining so hard after the club was losing haaland and rodri.

In fact, these players are always contributing a lot in any season under city's shirt. No doubt if losing them all made great impact to the manchester city.
Pep has been lining up some players from another club to be recruited as backup once they will be out. Pep needs to make sure the replacement will have same quality as them. That's why dani olmo already targeted by pep at this moment.
There are also many clubs aiming to get him from leipzig. I hope pep will do something to save city.

Correct me if i am wrong but if we talking about champion league Rodri still available to play because his suspension for Premier league matches only but in this competition Rodri still available to play and when Manchester City play against Leipzig Rodri was in Manchester City line up and at that time Manchester City can able to beat Leipzig with final scores 3-1 and at group G Manchester City opponent is relatively easy because so far only Leipzig as their strongest opponent for them but the teams just like Young Boys and Red Star is weak teams compared to them

Losing De Bruyne indeed have an impact for Manchester City performance in Premier league and it proven Haaland performance looks decline when Manchester City playing without De Bruyne but in this competition i am sure Manchester City will be qualified with champion group status

[klidex]

~snip~
Losing De Bruyne indeed have an impact for Manchester City performance in Premier league and it proven Haaland performance looks decline when Manchester City playing without De Bruyne but in this competition i am sure Manchester City will be qualified with champion group status

Yes, to be able to win the title you need talented player and Haaland cannot face thats alone without player who strengthen the defense line, and so far Kevin De Bruyne has done his best for Manchester City if Pep Guardiola doesn't immediately make a mature strategy It is not impossible thats Manchester City will have difficulty facing the Premier League and also the Champions League.
therefore Pep Guardiola only hope at the moments is for Haaland to be able to scored goals for Manchester City, but this all requires strongs team collaboration to be able to achieve victory in every matches.

[swogerino]

~snip~
Losing De Bruyne indeed have an impact for Manchester City performance in Premier league and it proven Haaland performance looks decline when Manchester City playing without De Bruyne but in this competition i am sure Manchester City will be qualified with champion group status

Yes, to be able to win the title you need talented player and Haaland cannot face thats alone without player who strengthen the defense line, and so far Kevin De Bruyne has done his best for Manchester City if Pep Guardiola doesn't immediately make a mature strategy It is not impossible thats Manchester City will have difficulty facing the Premier League and also the Champions League.
therefore Pep Guardiola only hope at the moments is for Haaland to be able to scored goals for Manchester City, but this all requires strongs team collaboration to be able to achieve victory in every matches.

I don't think Manchester City has a lost a lot,sure their recent results suggest that they are not doing well but any team can happen to have a bad moment and that is exactly what Manchester City is experiencing right now.The good thing for them was this International break which will help them recover both in Premier League and in Champions League where they should have no problems at all passing the group stage.

For the long term though I agree they need someone to replace De Bryne if he will continue injured and even when he recovers his performance would need time to match his performance before he got injured.

[makishart]

Bruyne has long term contract with manchester city. The club is really need him at this moment yet his injury is the problem now. There is currently no estimated time of arrival for his return from injury, and we eagerly await the opportunity to see him playing alongside Manchester City again.
There is a large number of individuals eagerly anticipating his return, however, even medical professionals are unable to provide a definite timeline for Kevin De Bruyne's comeback from his injury. Bruyne is not only producing a lot of goals but he was making a lot of assists as well.
Manchester city probably has a plan to extend his contract in the club. Bellingham, who is currently playing for Real Madrid, was being reminded to me by De Bruyne.
Bruyne is also having an instinct to play as good as striker in scoring the goals as well.

I had earlier read it in an article that he is expected to be out for about four months. That’s a pretty long time for Manchester City to go without him but they seem not to be missing him all that much as they’ve been managing just fine so far.
A lot of supporters are praying for a speedy recovery and a much anticipated return back to the team. He is a valuable player and has been instrumental in a lot of Manchester City goals and wins in their games.
He need not worry much. His teammates are in the very capable hands of Pep and are doing okay.

True, i have been comparing the game play of manchester city when de bruyne was still playing. Manchester city was able making so many creative attack with him. The gameplay has been changing a lot once de bruyne has gone due to the injury. The game play less attractive compared with the previous match. Im missing him so much caused by manchester city is able showing very great gameplay. De bruyne is such a talented players.

Manchester city is so hard in finding a replacement for him as there was no another bruyne for sure. Im not even sure if dani olmo will able to fill his position in the manchester city. Im a bit skeptical with him but let's give him a try after winter transfer window.
I think pep is trying to do his best in saving the club. I just need rodri to go back again but it seems like that he will not able to play in upcoming match as well.

I never saw rodri being overreacted in the match against nottingham forest.

[Iranus]

~snip~
Losing De Bruyne indeed have an impact for Manchester City performance in Premier league and it proven Haaland performance looks decline when Manchester City playing without De Bruyne but in this competition i am sure Manchester City will be qualified with champion group status

Yes, to be able to win the title you need talented player and Haaland cannot face thats alone without player who strengthen the defense line, and so far Kevin De Bruyne has done his best for Manchester City if Pep Guardiola doesn't immediately make a mature strategy It is not impossible thats Manchester City will have difficulty facing the Premier League and also the Champions League.
therefore Pep Guardiola only hope at the moments is for Haaland to be able to scored goals for Manchester City, but this all requires strongs team collaboration to be able to achieve victory in every matches.

I don't think Manchester City has a lost a lot,sure their recent results suggest that they are not doing well but any team can happen to have a bad moment and that is exactly what Manchester City is experiencing right now.The good thing for them was this International break which will help them recover both in Premier League and in Champions League where they should have no problems at all passing the group stage.
For the long term though I agree they need someone to replace De Bryne if he will continue injured and even when he recovers his performance would need time to match his performance before he got injured.

Manchester City have lost two matches in the Premier League. However, the team continued to dominate the Champions League. They have won easily in both the Champions League matches. But we have to accept that Manchester City's performance has deteriorated somewhat. Their midfield is somewhat weak except for De Bruyne. De Bruyne is one of Manchester City's most important players. So it is not possible to fill De Bruyne's vacancy for coach Guardiola. However, Guardiola is a very experienced coach. Manchester City is still consistently doing well because of his excellent match strategy. Also because the understanding between City players is very good. This is why City's performance is still somewhat stable without De Bruyne.

[rendravolt]

Rodri may be coming back in upcoming weeks but manchester city needs to play without him for serveral weeks started from the match against arsenal. Losing him gave very big impact to the manchester city. I never expected that if rodri will be doing serious foul against nottingham forest.
Im not mentioning de bruyne caused by he will out for months, rodri will become the only hope owned by manchester city. His power really needed by the club at this moment. Losing him gave very big impact to the performance of manchester city.
I hope de bruyn will be back later but pep shall have focused into the how to build a proper attack without rodri and kdb. Many people have criticized how manchester city is declining so hard after the club was losing haaland and rodri.

In fact, these players are always contributing a lot in any season under city's shirt. No doubt if losing them all made great impact to the manchester city.
Pep has been lining up some players from another club to be recruited as backup once they will be out. Pep needs to make sure the replacement will have same quality as them. That's why dani olmo already targeted by pep at this moment.
There are also many clubs aiming to get him from leipzig. I hope pep will do something to save city.

Correct me if i am wrong but if we talking about champion league Rodri still available to play because his suspension for Premier league matches only but in this competition Rodri still available to play and when Manchester City play against Leipzig Rodri was in Manchester City line up and at that time Manchester City can able to beat Leipzig with final scores 3-1 and at group G Manchester City opponent is relatively easy because so far only Leipzig as their strongest opponent for them but the teams just like Young Boys and Red Star is weak teams compared to them

Losing De Bruyne indeed have an impact for Manchester City performance in Premier league and it proven Haaland performance looks decline when Manchester City playing without De Bruyne but in this competition i am sure Manchester City will be qualified with champion group status

That's right, Rodri can still play in the Champions League with Manchester City and I think at least Manchester City will feel very safe if Rodri can continue to strengthen this team. Rodri's presence can keep the midfield under control and he can often be a player who can set the tempo for the other players. Rodri's role is as important as Kevin De Bruyne and perhaps he needs to be calmer in big competitions like the Champions League so he can continue to provide the best results for the team.

Losing Kevin De Bruyne has not been able to restore Manchester City's performance to 100%, but the presence of Rodri can make almost an 80% difference so far. Manchester City's next opponent is Young Boys and I think this will be an easy match, but the thing that is quite disturbing is that Haaland has not consistently scored goals for Manchester City in the last 2 Champions League matches.

[Jatiluhung]

Group B and Group F seem to be the fiercest in the group stage this time. Because the order of the points is the same, namely 4-3-2-1. But I think the toughest group is F. Because there are the most favored clubs there. Namely Newcastle, PSG, AC Milan and Dortmund. In fact, I didn't expect Newcastle to lead the rankings in Group F. Newcastle was able to beat PSG with a quite surprising score, namely 4-1.

Arsenal, who is in Group B, seems to be the one most expected by everyone to lead the group rankings. But unexpectedly, Lens is currently at the top of the rankings. But I'm sure Arsenal will fight just as hard this time, whether in the Premier League or the Champions League. Because Arteta definitely has very high ambitions this time. And we have seen Arsenal much stronger this season than last season.

From the start, Group F was predicted to be very fierce because these 4 teams had the opportunity to qualify from the group phase, and after 2 matches that had been played, Newcastle was surprisingly able to become the current leader of Group F standings by winning 4 points from 1 draw and 1 win. and in my opinion even now we still can't predict with certainty who will qualify from the group.

Meanwhile in Group B, Arsenal will of course be very favorites even though they lost against Lens in their second match, but if you look at the quality of this team, I don't have the slightest doubt that they can qualify from the group and even become top of the group standings in the future.

I also feel very confident that Arsenal is the one that will qualify from the preliminary round in group B. But for the second team I think it will be between Lens or Sevilla. But Sevilla doesn't seem to be in good shape this season. So Lens might be a strong candidate who will qualify from group B with Arsenal.

For group F, it is difficult for me to guess who will qualify. Even though Newcastle currently leads the standings. But things can still turn around quickly. Because there are still many matches left. Well, there are still 4 matches remaining in this group stage. which can change the current ranking position.

[Davian144]

It is very sad that De Bruyne was only able to complete 1 match in the League this season and had to be replaced due to injury. I can say that currently there is no player who can play a role as good as De Bruyne as a tempo maker for City's game in the middle of the field. Even though you have a striker like a goal machine like Haaland, without sufficient ball distribution it will be difficult for Haaland to repeat his extraordinary performance last season.

When a player who is often relied on by the team is injured and has to be absent for a long period, of course this will have a big impact on the appearance and performance of a team like Manchester City. So this is also normal because substitute players are always not the same as the players the team often relies on in certain lines and even attacking players like Haaland can't do much when one of the mainstay players is absent.

As you said, his teammates are fine but the problem is that the 2 defeats City have suffered at the start of the season will slightly hinder their chances of winning the title. I'm not saying City can't win the League, it's just that this time it won't be as smooth as the previous season.

Manchester City still deserves to be considered as a team that is in the category of fighting for the title again this season, but with the two defeats that Manchester City has experienced, of course this will be an obstacle for him if the rival team can continue to win consistently until the end of the season. However, over time we also need to see how the match results are obtained by rival teams this season so that Manchester City's chances of winning the title again this season can be seen more clearly.

[Juggy777]

It is very sad that De Bruyne was only able to complete 1 match in the League this season and had to be replaced due to injury. I can say that currently there is no player who can play a role as good as De Bruyne as a tempo maker for City's game in the middle of the field. Even though you have a striker like a goal machine like Haaland, without sufficient ball distribution it will be difficult for Haaland to repeat his extraordinary performance last season.

When a player who is often relied on by the team is injured and has to be absent for a long period, of course this will have a big impact on the appearance and performance of a team like Manchester City. So this is also normal because substitute players are always not the same as the players the team often relies on in certain lines and even attacking players like Haaland can't do much when one of the mainstay players is absent.

As you said, his teammates are fine but the problem is that the 2 defeats City have suffered at the start of the season will slightly hinder their chances of winning the title. I'm not saying City can't win the League, it's just that this time it won't be as smooth as the previous season.

Manchester City still deserves to be considered as a team that is in the category of fighting for the title again this season, but with the two defeats that Manchester City has experienced, of course this will be an obstacle for him if the rival team can continue to win consistently until the end of the season. However, over time we also need to see how the match results are obtained by rival teams this season so that Manchester City's chances of winning the title again this season can be seen more clearly.

@Davian144 when you’re a big club like Manchester City you need to have player’s who can step up and at City it seems that their player’s are not stepping up because these are opportunities for others to secure a starting 11 spot for themselves. Lastly I believe Pep would have done solid analysis by now and will come up with a better tactical plan hence it’s unwise to underestimate City even in the absence of De Bruyne.