UEFA Champions League - Gameweek # 3 - Wednesday - Preview and Predictions

Wednesday sees the two Manchester clubs in action. Also , there is the clash between two former European Champions - Real Madrid and Juventus. Here is the preview for all the clashes.

CSKA MOSCOW VS MANCHESTER CITY

What to make of a mystery like Pellegrini’s Manchester City? One week they are dismantling Manchester United (though, at the moment, everyone seems to be!) and in other weeks teams ranging from Bayern Munchen to Cardiff City are cutting them apart. Well tonight will go a long way in determining how the start has been for Pellegrini’s men. The Chilean was brought in place of Roberto Mancini for nights like this. In fact, Mancini had a better league record than Pellegrini but he lacked European pedigree. Pellegrini’s experience in successful campaigns with Villareal and Malaga saw him being given the Manchester City hot seat. If ever there was a time to show it , here it is. City were great in the weekend when they beat West Ham to get their first away victory of their season. There is the small matter of travelling to Russia and playing in a synthetic pitch to follow that up.

CSKA Moscow , for their part have been awful in the past few weeks, losing all of their last three games. It is difficult to see how they can keep the likes of Aguero and Silva at bay. However they do have players like Keisuke Honda and Zoran Tosic who can ruffle some Manchester City feathers

Man To Look Out For - Joe Hart. The goalkeeper was torn to pieces after his shambolic showing against Bayern Munchen and a similar performance here could see his Manchester City and England place cast in doubt.

Prediction - 0-3 win for City. Given the recent form of both sides , it is hard to see CSKA even grabbing a single goal.

MANCHESTER UNITED VS REAL SOCIEDAD

‘David Moyes - The Chosen One’ reads the banner in the Stretford End but how long will the Old Trafford faithful back their manager? Gone are the days of quests for stability in football, fans now want quick fixes and hence Moyes’ awful start in the league sees him under increasing pressure. The worst part is ,Moyes’ team don’t control games . They don’t dominate. Southampton or WBA didn’t leave Old Trafford with results through counter attacks or shock goals. They deserved their points. This is what Moyes needs to fundamentally change - he needs to set up to dominate games. Will the visit of the group’s whipping boys Real Sociedad and Adnan Januzaj’s (possible) Champions League bow see Moyes’ men finally wake up?

Sociedad have lost both their group games so far and don’t seem to be much of a threat but surely their Mexican forward Carlos Vela has the potential to shock Old Trafford. United gave away a silly late goal in the weekend and conceded a point to Southampton. However, they were brilliant (the best performance of this season) in their last Champions League game at Old Trafford when they beat Leverkusen 4-1 . That’s what Moyes will want - more of Leverkusen, less of WBA.

Man To Look Out For - Adnan Januzaj. The young Belgian-Albanian-Serbian-Turkish-Kosovan youngster will be making his Champions League debut. A certain Wayne Rooney once lit up the stage with a hat trick on Champions League debut. No pressure , Adnan, no pressure.

Prediction - 2-0 Manchester United win. Januzaj to play brightly but to tire out and get replaced by Welbeck in the sixtieth minute much to the displeasure of Old Trafford.

REAL MADRID VS JUVENTUS

Real Madrid continue their quest for a record tenth European crown (and the first one in over a decade) as they welcome Italian Champions Juventus to the Bernabeau. Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid are slowly finding their form this season. They were initially way off pace but are catching up Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in the league. They registered a 2-0 victory in the weekend over Malaga and Gareth Bale is getting back to fitness slowly but surely.

Juventus for their part have been good this season but AS Roma and Napoli have just been better. The Old Lady faced their first defeat of the season when Fiorentina shocked them . Real are comfortable in the group with six out of six points whereas Juventus were held against both Galatasaray and Coppenhagen and badly need their first win. Pogba and Pirlo against Luka Modric and Sami Khedira in the middle of the field is a feisty duel to look forward to

Man To Look Out For - Gareth Bale. The world’s most expensive footballer is fit again and Perez and Madrid paid £86 Million for him to shine on nights like this. A sparkling performance here might be the launch pad for his Real Madrid career.

Prediction - 3-1 to Real Madrid. Ronaldo, Bale , Isco and co. will be too hot to handle . If Pirlo is hassled enough, Juventus’ supply line will be cut.