UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Season

[G_Besar]

Even without Kevin De Bruyne in Manchester City squad, they will qualify to the round of sixteen because the team is not a bad team that solely depend on only one player. I will agree with everyone that without Kevin De Bruyne, their performance is not as last season and they lose some matches they are supposed to win due to his absence, and I will also agree with you if you said that he is a player that if Manchester City play without him, they might not win the Premier League as well as Champions League.

Manchester City is already in the last sixteen now in the Champions League and in the middle of next month all teams including Manchester City will compete again to reach the last eight. However, without Kevin De Bruyne in the Manchester City squad this season, of course there will be a little difficulty for Manchester City to reach several important rounds in the Champions League. Because other teams have also improved rapidly in their respective strengths, Manchester City will not run smoothly in the two big competitions this season.

[tusandii]

How sure are you that Napoli would beat Barcelona in their next UCL fixture? Even with Osimhen in the game, I think the odds would be against Napoli.
Although the Afcon would require Osimhen's presence because the super Eagles don't have an established striker like him, unless we call Iwobi who is doing well at fullham, then he would be unavailable for the rest of the UCL matches or la Liga matches respectively.

It seems like no one is sure that Napoli will be able to beat Barcelona apart from Napoli themselves because of course they have to maintain optimism to raise their motivation, especially in the first leg, but of course, Napoli also realizes how much difficulty they are facing in this match even though the opportunity is still there but look at how their current condition means it is a tough thing to beat Barcelona.
Barcelona is actually not as superior as many people see, they currently often have difficulty beating teams that consider can easily they overcome, especially in Laliga, several wins in local competitions seem like a bit of luck, so if Mazzari can implement the right strategy then Barcelona will also find it difficult to beat them in the first match, as long as the result is not a defeat for Napoli or a draw then Napoli has a chance of advancing to the quarter-finals, but as you said without Osimhen maybe Napoli's big problem is scoring goals.

In fact, these two clubs have similarities in terms of bad things, such as Napoli, which has difficulty getting the right strategy because Mazzari is still too new as Napoli's coach and it takes a long time to be able to read and provide the right strategy for Napoli because coaches are also very influential on the future of a club.
Meanwhile, Barcelona still has the same financial problems which prevent Xavi from being able to bring in more quality players and Xavi is forced to try to strengthen his players only with existing players.
But in terms of experience, it is actually very influential for the club to be able to continue its journey and qualify for the next round and Barca advantage only lies in experience and Napoli superiority lies in their truly quality players.

[Iranus]

The unluckiest team of the round is Copenhagen of course. They have a very tough draw against Manchester City and they will probably get destroyed easily as well. I respect their challenge in the group stage a lot. Just as Galatasaray were Copenhagen were also very ambitious to get points. But it looks like this is the end of the road for Copenhagen. 

I would have been happier to see Galatasaray in Copenhagen's place. I mean the draw would have still been very tough but at least they could have made much more money before being eliminated by the Manchester club. But anyways, the top title favourite Manchester City should have no problem on finishing off Copenhagen.

The Copenhagen team is not weak at all. They performed well against Bayern Munich and managed to draw the match goalless. They showed great dominance in the home match against Manchester United. Copenhagen team won 4-3. Copenhagen performed well in the last match against Galatasaray as well.

Copenhagen will face mighty Manchester City in the knockout round. The first leg match is a home match in Copenhagen. If they play well in this match, Copenhagen have a slim chance of advancing to the next round. But the Manchester City team is very strong. Manchester City are unlikely to lose against a smaller team like Copenhagen.

[shogun47]

The unluckiest team of the round is Copenhagen of course. They have a very tough draw against Manchester City and they will probably get destroyed easily as well. I respect their challenge in the group stage a lot. Just as Galatasaray were Copenhagen were also very ambitious to get points. But it looks like this is the end of the road for Copenhagen. 

I would have been happier to see Galatasaray in Copenhagen's place. I mean the draw would have still been very tough but at least they could have made much more money before being eliminated by the Manchester club. But anyways, the top title favourite Manchester City should have no problem on finishing off Copenhagen.

The Copenhagen team is not weak at all. They performed well against Bayern Munich and managed to draw the match goalless. They showed great dominance in the home match against Manchester United. Copenhagen team won 4-3. Copenhagen performed well in the last match against Galatasaray as well.

Copenhagen will face mighty Manchester City in the knockout round. The first leg match is a home match in Copenhagen. If they play well in this match, Copenhagen have a slim chance of advancing to the next round. But the Manchester City team is very strong. Manchester City are unlikely to lose against a smaller team like Copenhagen.

It is a pity that they are playing against Manchester City because I think Manchester City really is out of their league. I absolutely agree with you that they have shown some astonishing and surprisingly good performances in the Champions League. With some luck they could have gotten a few more points during the group stage even against Bayern Munich.

I was hoping that they would get one of the weaker opponents in the knockout round of the Champions League, but Manchester City is 98% their final destination in this tournament.

[bitvalak]

Well, when he says that then he knows what he is talking about. I think Ancelotti is aware about how long it will takes for his injured players to come back to training and to the fields and he knows that he has other temporary options. Additionally getting another defender, means more money to spend for a player to stay in the benches. I think Ancelotti needs to focus more on an attacker and maybe midfield for the long term. For short terms, he might get a defender with a short loan contract rather than signing him a couple of years one?

Ancelotti is an experienced coach and he understands that there is no point in him considering any short-term contracts for the players, since he is building a fundamental team for many years. And the fact that he expressed a desire to stay in the team and extended his contract until 2026 shows how much he enjoys working here. Moreover, I read that he says that he would like to stay in Real Madrid after 2026, and in this case you understand how much he can plan, how global his vision for the team is. He doesn't look one year ahead and is therefore only interested in long-term contracts for players and the team.

I think bringing in players on loan or short-term contracts at least until this season ends is one option that can be done, the article to find players intended for the long term will be more difficult because it needs to be careful in seeing the potential of the player. I also heard he wanted Varane to be part of Real Madrid again to cover the defensive shortcomings. And if you look at Varane's current age it is more appropriate for him to get a short-term contract or at least be borrowed from Manchester United.
Real Madrid are currently transitioning to regenerate their players and for now it is going quite well. By combining senior players and young players it is a very wise decision taken by Real Madrid.

Real Madrid rarely buys players in the winter transfer market. Most likely they will only pursue short-term borrowing options.
Because next season all their injured core players will return. The decider is at the end of the season who they have to buy, and who they sell.
For now, Madrid is more comfortable using their juniors in Castilla. The Castilla captain has just been promoted to the Real Madrid main squad to fill the CB position.

[Docnaster]

The unluckiest team of the round is Copenhagen of course. They have a very tough draw against Manchester City and they will probably get destroyed easily as well. I respect their challenge in the group stage a lot. Just as Galatasaray were Copenhagen were also very ambitious to get points. But it looks like this is the end of the road for Copenhagen. 

I would have been happier to see Galatasaray in Copenhagen's place. I mean the draw would have still been very tough but at least they could have made much more money before being eliminated by the Manchester club. But anyways, the top title favourite Manchester City should have no problem on finishing off Copenhagen.

I don't think that Copenhagen were unlucky with their round of 16 draw against Manchester City and I have my reasons of saying that. For a team to avoid been drawn against some certain teams  in the round of 16 of the UEFA champions league competition, they must have to finish at the top of their group stage table.
Copenhagen without doubt did exceptionally well to progress from a team that consists of Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Galatasaray but they only progressed as runners up to Bayern Munich who who the table and that's why they'll have to face a team that finished as winners of another group. There's no doubt to the fact that Manchester City have a greater chances of winning the tie against Copenhagen, but I that if Copenhagen can play on their full strength, they can surprisingly reach the last eight of the competition at the expense of Manchester City.

[CLS63]

The most interesting draws are Napoli - Barcelona and Inter - Atletico Madrid clearly. I'm saying this due to the fact that these are matchups between really close teams in strength.    Napoli and Barcelona both are having an inconsistent season in their local leagues. However they have done well in the Champions League so far. I'm seeing Napoli one step ahead for now but they absolutely need Osimhen to have more chance.

When it comes to the other matchup one of the last season finalists is facing Simeone's Atletico Madrid. As Atletico Madrid are playing much better in the Champions League this season it is pretty hard to predict the winner of the draw. 

[temple]

The unluckiest team of the round is Copenhagen of course. They have a very tough draw against Manchester City and they will probably get destroyed easily as well. I respect their challenge in the group stage a lot. Just as Galatasaray were Copenhagen were also very ambitious to get points. But it looks like this is the end of the road for Copenhagen. 

I would have been happier to see Galatasaray in Copenhagen's place. I mean the draw would have still been very tough but at least they could have made much more money before being eliminated by the Manchester club. But anyways, the top title favourite Manchester City should have no problem on finishing off Copenhagen.

I don't think that Copenhagen were unlucky with their round of 16 draw against Manchester City and I have my reasons of saying that. For a team to avoid been drawn against some certain teams  in the round of 16 of the UEFA champions league competition, they must have to finish at the top of their group stage table.
Copenhagen without doubt did exceptionally well to progress from a team that consists of Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Galatasaray but they only progressed as runners up to Bayern Munich who who the table and that's why they'll have to face a team that finished as winners of another group. There's no doubt to the fact that Manchester City have a greater chances of winning the tie against Copenhagen, but I that if Copenhagen can play on their full strength, they can surprisingly reach the last eight of the competition at the expense of Manchester City.

Maybe this is more a question of the right vocabulary, but when someone says that Copenhagen was a bit unlucky, then I get what he is trying to say. Of course there is some luck involved in the drawings and if they were now playing against Real Sociedad and not Bayern or Real Madrid or Manchester City, he would have probably said that instead of getting unlucky, they now got lucky. But it is what it is for them and I still think they are looking forward to that game and enjoy it. For Copenhagen it is huge no matter how it ends. All the players will remember the round of 16 games in the Champions League against Manchester City as a highlight of their careers.

[Iranus]

The unluckiest team of the round is Copenhagen of course. They have a very tough draw against Manchester City and they will probably get destroyed easily as well. I respect their challenge in the group stage a lot. Just as Galatasaray were Copenhagen were also very ambitious to get points. But it looks like this is the end of the road for Copenhagen.  
I would have been happier to see Galatasaray in Copenhagen's place. I mean the draw would have still been very tough but at least they could have made much more money before being eliminated by the Manchester club. But anyways, the top title favourite Manchester City should have no problem on finishing off Copenhagen.

The Copenhagen team is not weak at all. They performed well against Bayern Munich and managed to draw the match goalless. They showed great dominance in the home match against Manchester United. Copenhagen team won 4-3. Copenhagen performed well in the last match against Galatasaray as well.

Copenhagen will face mighty Manchester City in the knockout round. The first leg match is a home match in Copenhagen. If they play well in this match, Copenhagen have a slim chance of advancing to the next round. But the Manchester City team is very strong. Manchester City are unlikely to lose against a smaller team like Copenhagen.

It is a pity that they are playing against Manchester City because I think Manchester City really is out of their league. I absolutely agree with you that they have shown some astonishing and surprisingly good performances in the Champions League. With some luck they could have gotten a few more points during the group stage even against Bayern Munich.

I was hoping that they would get one of the weaker opponents in the knockout round of the Champions League, but Manchester City is 98% their final destination in this tournament.

Copenhagen is more likely to lose against Manchester City. But since this is a goal ball game, nothing can be said for sure.
Copenhagen's performance in the group stage was good. And they have proved that this team is in no way to be underestimated. If Manchester City can continue their great performance this season as well as last season then I would say City will win against Copenhagen. However, Manchester City's performance has also been somewhat erratic and weak this season. However, De Bruyne has been included in the squad after a long injury layoff. But we are still not sure if he can play well. So it's going to be tough for City to win against Copenhagen.

[hichamito37]

It is a pity that they are playing against Manchester City because I think Manchester City really is out of their league. I absolutely agree with you that they have shown some astonishing and surprisingly good performances in the Champions League. With some luck they could have gotten a few more points during the group stage even against Bayern Munich.

I was hoping that they would get one of the weaker opponents in the knockout round of the Champions League, but Manchester City is 98% their final destination in this tournament.

Copenhagen is more likely to lose against Manchester City. But since this is a goal ball game, nothing can be said for sure.
Copenhagen's performance in the group stage was good. And they have proved that this team is in no way to be underestimated. If Manchester City can continue their great performance this season as well as last season then I would say City will win against Copenhagen. However, Manchester City's performance has also been somewhat erratic and weak this season. However, De Bruyne has been included in the squad after a long injury layoff. But we are still not sure if he can play well. So it's going to be tough for City to win against Copenhagen.

I think Copenhagen proved what they can do by getting out of the group. So we should not say that Galatasaray would have done a better job or something because they also beat Galatasaray in the process to get out of the group.

They had to defeat Manchester United as well. But I think even if Galatasaray had qualified instead of Copenhagen, it would not have mattered that much. Manchester City would have destroyed them anyway.

[hahay]

The most interesting draws are Napoli - Barcelona and Inter - Atletico Madrid clearly. I'm saying this due to the fact that these are matchups between really close teams in strength.    Napoli and Barcelona both are having an inconsistent season in their local leagues. However they have done well in the Champions League so far. I'm seeing Napoli one step ahead for now but they absolutely need Osimhen to have more chance.

When it comes to the other matchup one of the last season finalists is facing Simeone's Atletico Madrid. As Atletico Madrid are playing much better in the Champions League this season it is pretty hard to predict the winner of the draw. 

For Napoli and Barcelona, maybe I would make it an easy choice at least Barcelona still has a better chance. Because yes, the factor of changing coaches at Napoli is still difficult to get good results and also, the fact that Osimhen is not as impressive as in the last season. With such considerations, then for me Napoli at this moment has a more chaotic trend compared to Barcelona because after all, basically Barcelona also still has a squad that is certainly better than Napoli.

Therefore, for me choosing between Napoli and Barcelona seems to be easier than making a choice between Atletico and Inter. Because yes, I think Atletico and Inter both still have a good trend at this moment, so I think Atletico and Inter still both have a good chance to win.

[Hanadawa]

Therefore, for me choosing between Napoli and Barcelona seems to be easier than making a choice between Atletico and Inter. Because yes, I think Atletico and Inter both still have a good trend at this moment, so I think Atletico and Inter still both have a good chance to win.

Napoli was very strong last season. But this season they are like a different club. Last season they were Serie A champions but this season they are ranked eighth in the standings which shows that their performance has really dropped this season. Some clubs may also perform worse than last season but at least they are able to compete at the top of the standings.

So as you said, this match will be easier to bet on who will win than other matches where the performance of each team is very balanced. Let's take an example like PSV vs Dortmund where even though PSV is unbeaten in the league and Dortmund is in fifth place, the difference in domestic league level will make it difficult for us to choose the winner.

[Iranus]

It is a pity that they are playing against Manchester City because I think Manchester City really is out of their league. I absolutely agree with you that they have shown some astonishing and surprisingly good performances in the Champions League. With some luck they could have gotten a few more points during the group stage even against Bayern Munich.

I was hoping that they would get one of the weaker opponents in the knockout round of the Champions League, but Manchester City is 98% their final destination in this tournament.

Copenhagen is more likely to lose against Manchester City. But since this is a goal ball game, nothing can be said for sure.
Copenhagen's performance in the group stage was good. And they have proved that this team is in no way to be underestimated. If Manchester City can continue their great performance this season as well as last season then I would say City will win against Copenhagen. However, Manchester City's performance has also been somewhat erratic and weak this season. However, De Bruyne has been included in the squad after a long injury layoff. But we are still not sure if he can play well. So it's going to be tough for City to win against Copenhagen.

I think Copenhagen proved what they can do by getting out of the group. So we should not say that Galatasaray would have done a better job or something because they also beat Galatasaray in the process to get out of the group.

They had to defeat Manchester United as well. But I think even if Galatasaray had qualified instead of Copenhagen, it would not have mattered that much. Manchester City would have destroyed them anyway.

I agree with you. Copenhagen has already proved their mettle. And after watching Copenhagen's performance against Bayern Munich, I feel there is no way to underestimate this team. This team has the ability to be confident and perform well against bigger teams.

Manchester City's performance is still a bit shaky. Due to their weak midfield, the team is not getting the expected performance from Haaland in attack. So the Copenhagen vs Manchester City match is likely to be competitive. However, if Haaland and De Bruyne play well, it will be a little easier for Manchester City to dominate the match.

[QueenVera]

This season is far worse for manchester united. Im only saying based on the fact how poor the performance from manchester united. People were also feeling the same as me. Im thinking about manchester united to make more mistakes during the winter transfer season. There will be another flop to be recruited by ten hag soon. Manchester united is having very poor performance at this moment. Im not doubting that how ten hag got so many blames caused by his decision making to recruit the worst players with non sense price like mount and onana. Im waiting for another transfer from manchester united in the winter transfer season.

This will make the club to perform better than before. Im feeling so happy with it caused by ten hag could not perform better coz the potential of him to be sacked is very big this time.
I prefer MU to get a new coach rather than him. Ten hag was a flop, and he deserves no place in MU anymore as a coach. Im really tired of seeing his fucken face in manchester united.

He has been triggering so many internal conflicts in the club.

For United, they've had good records from the beginning of their existence till 2seasons ago when they started experiencing gradual decline. Their coach switches has an effect on the team, they found it hard to secure a good coach that complements and will impact the team positively. And this has been on and on till this season when the situation got critical and United is literally nowhere to be found in the top 4 spot and they keep going behind in their struggle each passing week. Ten Hag is obviously not good for them currently as the team keeps slacking back and they do not stop looking confused on the pitch. All his implemented tactics and strategies aren't okay off well for him and it's safe to say that as the head of the team, he's got the greater part of the blame to bear.

 United needs a switch and not just any switch but a more reasonable switch that'll understand their condition and think innovatively without sentiments with the goal of team building and growth and implement new methods to combat their opponents. I don't know what the board is waiting for to realize the big error Ten Hag is to the team. The entire team has been infected with his virus and they need to be quarantined and looked after to return back to their usual self again. Sadly it may take a while but we hope it's soon.

[imamusma]

For Napoli and Barcelona, maybe I would make it an easy choice at least Barcelona still has a better chance. Because yes, the factor of changing coaches at Napoli is still difficult to get good results and also, the fact that Osimhen is not as impressive as in the last season. With such considerations, then for me Napoli at this moment has a more chaotic trend compared to Barcelona because after all, basically Barcelona also still has a squad that is certainly better than Napoli.

Therefore, for me choosing between Napoli and Barcelona seems to be easier than making a choice between Atletico and Inter. Because yes, I think Atletico and Inter both still have a good trend at this moment, so I think Atletico and Inter still both have a good chance to win.

It is understandable, although the domestic league cannot be used as a complete reference, to some extent it can be a reference for us. I agree that Napoli has a smaller chance than Barcelona. Napoli consistency is full of question marks at the moment, so even though Barcelona is experiencing a bit of a shake we have more confidence in Xavi squad if we want to bet.

The match will be held in mid February, Napoli and Barcelona are currently focusing on their respective domestic leagues. We need to look back at their performance ahead of the match, to get the latest updates and their preparations for the knockout rounds. Who knows, Napoli will experience an increase in performance, so that their strengths will be balanced when they face each other later.

[fuguebtc]

How sure are you that Napoli would beat Barcelona in their next UCL fixture? Even with Osimhen in the game, I think the odds would be against Napoli.
Although the Afcon would require Osimhen's presence because the super Eagles don't have an established striker like him, unless we call Iwobi who is doing well at fullham, then he would be unavailable for the rest of the UCL matches or la Liga matches respectively.

It seems like no one is sure that Napoli will be able to beat Barcelona apart from Napoli themselves because of course they have to maintain optimism to raise their motivation, especially in the first leg, but of course, Napoli also realizes how much difficulty they are facing in this match even though the opportunity is still there but look at how their current condition means it is a tough thing to beat Barcelona.
Barcelona is actually not as superior as many people see, they currently often have difficulty beating teams that consider can easily they overcome, especially in Laliga, several wins in local competitions seem like a bit of luck, so if Mazzari can implement the right strategy then Barcelona will also find it difficult to beat them in the first match, as long as the result is not a defeat for Napoli or a draw then Napoli has a chance of advancing to the quarter-finals, but as you said without Osimhen maybe Napoli's big problem is scoring goals.

In fact, these two clubs have similarities in terms of bad things, such as Napoli, which has difficulty getting the right strategy because Mazzari is still too new as Napoli's coach and it takes a long time to be able to read and provide the right strategy for Napoli because coaches are also very influential on the future of a club.
Meanwhile, Barcelona still has the same financial problems which prevent Xavi from being able to bring in more quality players and Xavi is forced to try to strengthen his players only with existing players.
But in terms of experience, it is actually very influential for the club to be able to continue its journey and qualify for the next round and Barca advantage only lies in experience and Napoli superiority lies in their truly quality players.

@Cryptomultiplier, I think Osimhen will be back before the UCL games against Barcelona. The AFCON final match will be on February 12 and the UCL  match between them and Barcelona will be on 22 February. So I believe within these gaps he will be able to come back if Osimhen does not pick up any injury.  Even after that, I think it will be a 50-50 between them.  Because look at them, they are not doing very well. Suffering Serie A, out of Coppa Italia after that huge defeat against Frosinone.

Barcelona on the other hand are suffering in their own league as well. They had two recent hard fought victories against very weak teams. They are financially weak meaning they cannot even strengthen their team in the January transfer window. So both teams are struggling. This match will be the only 50-50 match in my opinion in the UCL  playoff.

[GiftedMAN]

Even without Kevin De Bruyne in Manchester City squad, they will qualify to the round of sixteen because the team is not a bad team that solely depend on only one player. I will agree with everyone that without Kevin De Bruyne, their performance is not as last season and they lose some matches they are supposed to win due to his absence, and I will also agree with you if you said that he is a player that if Manchester City play without him, they might not win the Premier League as well as Champions League.

Manchester City is already in the last sixteen now in the Champions League and in the middle of next month all teams including Manchester City will compete again to reach the last eight. However, without Kevin De Bruyne in the Manchester City squad this season, of course there will be a little difficulty for Manchester City to reach several important rounds in the Champions League. Because other teams have also improved rapidly in their respective strengths, Manchester City will not run smoothly in the two big competitions this season.

Manchester City performance has been affected by the absence of KDB in the squad as it has been in their games despite having a very solid team one of the best team in the world but their position in the EPL and their game play says it all because the impact of KDB has been lacking in the team. Manchester City has managed to get to the round of 16 in the UCL I think they can still struggle to win games in the UCL even without the presence of KDB but the team will be in better shape and there will be more distribution of passes and more chances will be created if KDB should return from injury, hopefully he's going to be in the squad soon because City performance in the EPL has dropped so much.

[mv1986]

I did a quick google search and found the following excerpts from the rules:

"46.01: As of the round of 16, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition. Such registration must be completed by 2 February 2023 (24.00CET) at the latest. This deadline cannot be extended.

46.02: Any or all of the players from the above quota of three may have been fielded for another club in the qualifying phase, play-offs or group stage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or UEFA Europa Conference League."


This means it is indeed allowed to register three new players that were signed during the winter transfer window regardless of whether they played for another club in the respective tournament already. The only rule is that not more than three players can be registered for those competitions. I think I remember that Chelsea ran into problems some years ago when they signed a lot of players and had to tell some of them they won't get registered for the Champions League.

I think it all depends on how you interpret the words “three new eligible players” - obviously if a player has already played in this tournament this season, then he is no longer new to it. I think therein lies the nuance.
I wanted to see the details (suddenly the rules really changed), but in your article the link to the UEFA website leads to a page where it says that the material has been deleted 

That is weird because the link works perfectly fine for me. It is the link to the English website of the UEFA and the headline of these rules goes as follows:

"...Since 2018/19, it no longer matters whether those players have already played in the competition for another club, even for another club still in the competition."

I think this should be the answer to our question whether a player is allowed to play in the Champions League for the new club if he has already played for another club in the same competition. The deadline to nominate the newly transferred player is as mentioned above (February 2nd in 2023 for 2023). I didn't check what the deadline is for 2024, but we basically now know that three players can be nominated regardless of their potential appearance in the competition for another club.

[Mr.suevie]

Even without Kevin De Bruyne in Manchester City squad, they will qualify to the round of sixteen because the team is not a bad team that solely depend on only one player. I will agree with everyone that without Kevin De Bruyne, their performance is not as last season and they lose some matches they are supposed to win due to his absence, and I will also agree with you if you said that he is a player that if Manchester City play without him, they might not win the Premier League as well as Champions League.

Manchester City is already in the last sixteen now in the Champions League and in the middle of next month all teams including Manchester City will compete again to reach the last eight. However, without Kevin De Bruyne in the Manchester City squad this season, of course there will be a little difficulty for Manchester City to reach several important rounds in the Champions League. Because other teams have also improved rapidly in their respective strengths, Manchester City will not run smoothly in the two big competitions this season.

Manchester City performance has been affected by the absence of KDB in the squad as it has been in their games despite having a very solid team one of the best team in the world but their position in the EPL and their game play says it all because the impact of KDB has been lacking in the team. Manchester City has managed to get to the round of 16 in the UCL I think they can still struggle to win games in the UCL even without the presence of KDB but the team will be in better shape and there will be more distribution of passes and more chances will be created if KDB should return from injury, hopefully he's going to be in the squad soon because City performance in the EPL has dropped so much.

Of course, the team will be affected by the absence of one of the best midfielders in the game despite the fact that guadiola is brilliant coach and has a stable team like Manchester city, the team has continued to miss his presence and I doubt their future in the champions league will be certain any further if guadiola don't something or the midfield Mysterio come backs soon because the next round is one that is filled with teams that hungry to qualify.

[shogun47]

Copenhagen is more likely to lose against Manchester City. But since this is a goal ball game, nothing can be said for sure.
Copenhagen's performance in the group stage was good. And they have proved that this team is in no way to be underestimated. If Manchester City can continue their great performance this season as well as last season then I would say City will win against Copenhagen. However, Manchester City's performance has also been somewhat erratic and weak this season. However, De Bruyne has been included in the squad after a long injury layoff. But we are still not sure if he can play well. So it's going to be tough for City to win against Copenhagen.

Everyone is quick with predictions when we have a game where the powers are so imbalanced between two contenders, but in this case there is a good reason to come up with a quick prediction. I think it would be the surprise of the century if Copenhagen kicks Manchester City out of the Champions League.

Really imagine that would happen. The whole world would be sitting in front of their TVs with shocked faces like never before. And Denmark would celebrate a party like never before, probably as if they had just won the World Cup.