Manchester City hosted Danish powerhouse Copenhagen in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 second leg. The Blues took a 3-1 lead in the first leg. Nonetheless, the matchup may not be as one-sided as expected, as a crucial showdown with Liverpool in the Premier League could also sap City's strength.
Manchester City's recent matches have been intensive, and after the last Man City Derby with Manchester United, the team is about to face a strong dialog with Liverpool, which is undoubtedly the number one matchup in the EPL. Considering coach Gaudio's strategy, it is expected that City will not put up a full fight in this match so as not to lose out on the small ones. In particular, City are already two goals ahead in the first leg and can utilize precise passing and possession tactics to consolidate their advantage in this match. It is expected that even if they win, it will only be a narrow victory.
For Copenhagen, they must take the initiative to launch an attack if they want to recover from the defeat. However, their strength limitations and the strong counter-attacking ability of their opponents make it quite difficult to attack. Copenhagen will probably not take too many risks to avoid being passive again.
Copenhagen has been solid in the UEFA Europa League group stage this season, with 2 wins and 2 losses in 7 matches. Despite losing 1-3 to Manchester City in the first leg of the round of 16, they showed resilience by conceding only one goal against both Bayern Munich and Manchester United. Therefore, for this UEFA Europa League matchup, Copenhagen's +3 strategy may bring a surprise.
