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AaB Aalborg ‘v’ Manchester City – Preview

Following a rather meek and life-less performance against Chelsea on Sunday, Man City have a golden chance to redeem themselves when they travel to Denmark for their second-leg of the UEFA Cup last 16 tie against Aalborg Boldspilklub, more commonly known as AaB Aalborg. City hold a valuable 2 – 0 advantage from the first leg, meaning that if they score once, the home side must notch up four goals to win. The Danish side eased comfortably past the challenge of Deportivo La Coruna in the previous round and have experience of teams from Manchester travelling to Denmark for a European competition, having already capitulated 0 – 3 when facing City’s bitter rivals, Manchester United, in the Champions League group stages.

City have performed with greater assurance in the UEFA Cup, soon to be called the Europa Cup, than they have done in the Premier League, and a number of well-respected bookmakers have now installed the Blues as favourites for this prestigious competition. City have already overcome two Danish sides to get to this stage, namely FC Midtjylland and FC Copenhagen, so will be coming up against a well-known style of football. The visitors are behind Copenhagen in the Danish table, so judging by how easily City won in the last round, Aalborg should pose a limited threat, but we all know matters concerning the Blues are never that straightforward.


The Energi Nord Arena, home of Aalborg, will play host to Manchester’s only side

Team News

Blues boss Mark ‘Sparky’ Hughes may look to make wholesale changes following the defeat to Chelsea. The Citizens apparently picked up a plethora of injuries, with the most notable casualties including Robinho and Stephen Ireland, both of whom are doubtful for this match. Vincent Komany and ‘Nifty Nige’ de Jong are also injured, whilst Valeri ‘Needs to Spend Time at the Gym’ Bojinov is ineligible, so Felipe ‘Hugh Jarse’ Caicedo will start up-front.

AaB Aalborg are an extremely capable side, who were in this year’s Champions League, finishing third in their group behind Man United and Villareal. They recorded an impressive 6 – 1 aggregate victory over Spanish side Deportivo in the round of 32, so are certainly no mugs. Their manager, Magnus Pehrsson, formerly of Bradford, is able to call upon the services of Jamaican forward Luton Shelton, once of Sheffield United, who has a remarkable scoring record for his country, having notched 27 goals in just 42 appearances. He has also scored against City in the past, having given Sheffield United the lead in an FA Cup tie a couple of seasons ago, with a goal now infamous due to the presence of umpteen balloons on the pitch at the time.

My Team (4-4-2)

                                      Hart

Richards          Dunne                Onuoha           Bridge

Etuhu             Zabaleta               Elano             Garrido

                       Vassell                Evans

Subs: Given, Logan, BERTI, SWP, Robinho, Ireland, Caicedo

Key Battles

Karim Zaza ‘v’ Shay Given

Since signing for City during the January transfer window, Given has firmly established himself as the number one, impressing on many occasions, none more so than on his debut against Middlesborough. He’s a very commanding figure in net, and in such a crucial game like this, his experience will be invaluable. Zaza is a Moroccan international goalkeeper who started his career as a striker, but was moved back due to his rather powerful temper. He starred for City’s previous UEFA Cup opponents, FC Copenhagen, for a five-year period and has made 57 starts for his current side.

Karim Zaza will hope to keep a clean sheet for the visitors

Anders Due ‘v’ Shaun Wright-Phillips

SWP was an instrumental figure in the victory against Aston Villa, with his pace and trickery causing numerous problems for the Villains’ defence. If he is on his game against Aalborg, then the visitors can expect to be tormented. Anders Due, a name which obviously gives itself to puns, due to its spelling (sorry, had to do that), is a goalscoring left-winger, who notched two goals against Deportivo and was a constant threat with his ability to cut inside. Whoever causes more problems out of these two wingers could influence the game in their sides favour.

Luton Shelton ‘v’ Richard Dunne

Richard ‘I Love Chocolate’ Dunne has been in terrific form since his return from suspension, displaying all the capabilities which won him ‘Player of the Year’ for a record-breaking four consecutive years. He will be up against Shelton, a live-wire and unorthodox forward, who made his Premier League debut against Man United.

Verdict: AaB Aalborg 1 – 2 Man City

The home side to score first to give the tie a glimmer of excitement, but then City to show their class by scoring twice to ease into the next round. Goals to be scored by Luton Shelton, SWP and Ched Evans

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